Our Land
by Snowy Stoat
Summary: The Herd has found a beautiful new place to live. They think their troubles are over, but they are not alone in the forest. A pack of wolves aren't so glad with the newcomers and will do anything to get them away again. Rated T to be sure...
1. Prologue

**Hello, everybody, it's me!**

**So, I'm back to writing Ice Age fanfics. **

**And finally I've decided to write a fanfic**

**about the herd, instead of only about Buck.**

**In case anyone is wondering, I am not planning**

**to finish 'Back to the Underworld'. I'm sorry for**

**that. But I have more Ice Age fanfics in mind,**

**And some of them will also be with Buck, for**

**those who are interested in reading more about**

**him.**

**Anyway, enjoy. **

**...**

**.**

**Our Land.**

**Prologue.**

"Your grace, your grace!"

The old wolf looked up and sniffed the air. He smelled the scent of one of his followers.

"Who is there?" he said, his voice soft and low like the sounds you hear at the beginning of a thunderstorm.

"It's me, Hamlin," the young wolf said.

"Hamlin," the old wolf said. "My loyal right hand wolf. What is the matter?"

"I've seen strangers on our land, your grace," Hamlin said. "A strange herd of all kinds of creatures. They didn't look like prey to me."

"What kind of animals?" the old wolf asked. Hamlin now had his full attention.

Hamlin summed up the members of the herd. "Three mammoths, two sabers, two sloths, two possums and a molehog."

"Mammoths?" the old wolf said, as he suddenly stood up. "What are they doing here?"

"I don't know, your grace," Hamlin said.

"Of course you don't" the old wolf snapped at him. "Go get Seth."

"Seth?" Hamlin asked. "But your grace…."

"Do it!" the leader said. "Now!"

Hamlin ran away with his tail between his legs.

"I'll go get him, I'll go get him." He whimpered.

….

Manny looked around with a satisfied look on his face.

"This seems like a wonderful place to live." He said. "Far away from all those noise-makers. Peace and quiet."

"More like peace and boredom," Peaches said, rolling her eyes. "there's nobody here. Certainly not any mammoths of my age."

"Good, even better," Manny said.

"Dad!" Peaches said, irritated.

"Oh, come on honey," Ellie said to her daughter. "I'm sure you'll have fun here."

"And you've got me," Louis sad, looking up at her with his big, brown eyes.

Peaches smiled back at him. "Yeah, at least I know you won't abandon me."

"And you've got us!" Crash and Eddie said.

Peaches just rolled her eyes at her two uncles.

They walked through the forest. It was indeed peaceful and quiet. All the animal that they could see were some birds in the trees and a grey squirrel trying to get an acorn into a tree.

After walking for a while, they found an open space in the forest close to rock-wall. But in the wall was a big cave.

"Look at that," Manny said. "a perfect home. Dry, warm and big enough for all of us."

"Just needs some decorating." Ellie said.

"Boring!" Crash said.

"Let's go and explore this place!" Eddie said.

And off they went already.

"Wait for us!" Peaches said, as she and Louis ran after the two possums.

"Are you sure we'll all fit in there?" Shira asked.

Diego took a look inside the cave.

"Yeah," he said. "Enough room for all of us."

"Great, I'm tired of walking." Granny said, as she walked into the cave a lay down on the floor.

"Wait, Granny," Ellie said. "We still need to make it more comfortable to live in."

But Granny was already asleep, and it was impossible to wake her up.

The herd laughed at crazy old Granny.

Then Manny looked at Ellie, and she looked back at him.

"Finally, everything is going to be fine." He said.


	2. Chapter 1 - Sid's suspicion

**Our Land.**

**Chapter 1 – Sid's suspicion. **

…

It was night, and the herd was sitting outside of their cave around a campfire that Sid had made. Crash and Eddie were roasting chestnuts above the fire, and Granny tried to do the same, not noticing that her 'chestnut' was actually a rock.

Shira and Diego were sitting a little further away, eating their dinner. The rest of the herd didn't look at them, because they were eating meat and the herbivores didn't want to see that.

"Remember those pirates?" Sid said. "Man, that sure was one adventure."

"It sure was," Manny said. "I'm just glad it's over. I don't ever want to see another pirate again. Well, except you, Shira."

Shira and Diego had finished their dinner and came sit with the rest by the fire.

"And Buck," Diego said. "Do you remember him?"

The rest of the herd laughed.

"Yes, crazy old Buck." Said Ellie. "It was fun traveling with him."

Sid looked around Manny into the darkness of the forest.

"What was that?" he asked.

"What?" Manny said, following Sid's eyes. "I don't see anything."

Diego stood up.

"Who is there?" he said, growling and showing his teeth. "Show yourself."

Nothing happened.

Diego sat down again. "It must have been your imagination, Sid," he said.

"No it wasn't," Sid said, a little angry. "I heard something, I swear."

"Don't swear, boy," Granny said. "It's rude. Didn't your momma tell you not to use bad words?"

"No I mean the other kind of swearing, Granny," Sid said.

"Don't interrupt me, Sidney." Granny said, hitting her grandson on the head with her cane.

"Ouch!" Sid cried out. "Granny!"

"Knock it off you two," Manny said.

"He started it," Granny said, pointing at Sid with her cane.

Manny hit Sid over the head with his trunk.

"Ouch!" Sid said. "What was that for?"

"Well I can't hit Granny, can I?" Manny said. "That would be morally wrong."

Sid looked at him angrily, clearly not amused.

Shira yawned. "I'm going to bed," she said. She stood up and walked into the cave, where earlier that day they had all made beds out of grass and leaves for themselves.

"Let's all go," Manny said. "it's getting late."

While everybody stood up and walked into the cave, Sid remained by the fire for a while and stared into the forest. He was sure he had seen something. Or at last felt a presence.

But the darkness gave him the creeps, so he quickly went after the rest of the herd into the cave, where it was warm and safe.

Outside, a shadow moved under the trees. A wolf turned away from the cave and ran away towards the rocks behind the forest. But when he was halfway there, he stopped and sniffed the air. Smelling a familiar smell, he turned to the left. Suddenly someone jumped on him and pinned him to the ground.

"You!" a female voice said.

"Oh, hello," the wolf said, grinning. "Fancy seeing you here."

"What are you doing here, you little worm?" the female wolf hissed.

"My job," The first wolf answered. "You should think of getting one."

The female got off the male and turned around. "No thank you," she said. "I am a lone wolf, remember?"

"Sure you are." The male wolf said.

Quickly, he crawled on his feet and continued running, leaving the female wolf behind all on her own.

….

When Sid woke up, the others were already outside eating their breakfast. Only Diego and Shira were nowhere to be seen. They were probably out hunting.

"Ah, Sid," Manny said. "there you finally are. Hurry up, before Crash and Eddie eat your breakfast."

Sid quickly sat down next to the others and began eating the food that the others had gathered from the forest.

Granny was walking around the cave, looking for her teeth and not realizing she had them in her mouth.

While eating, Sid couldn't help but look at the forest where he had heard something in the bushes the other night. He wondered if there was something to be seen over there.

When he had finished eating, the sloth stood up and walked in the direction of the bushes.

"What are you doing, Sid?" Ellie asked, looking at him over her shoulder.

"I'm just looking around, guys," Sid said. "I won't go far."

"Okay, Sid," Manny said.

Sid looked behind the bushes. He must've heard the sound from somewhere around there yesterday.

In the earth between the trees, Sid found a pawprint. It was a quite large one, but not as big as Diego's. It looked like the pawprint of a predator.

Sid wasn't good at tracking, and he had no idea what animal this pawprint belonged to. But it made him feel unsafe.

Quickly the sloth ran back to his friends.

"Guys, I was right!" He said. "There was something out there yesterday. Come and look."

Manny and Ellie followed Sid to the place where he had found the pawprint. But to Sid's surprise, the pawprint had disappeared.

"There's nothing here, Sid." Manny said.

"Yes but there was," Sid said. "There was a pawprint right here. From some dangerous animal… maybe a monster."

Manny rolled his eyes. "We don't have time for this."

"It was really here!" Sid cried out. "Someone must've wiped it out again when I was calling you."

"Maybe you only imagined seeing a pawprint?" Ellie suggested.

"No, it was really here." Sid insisted.

"Enough, Sid," Manny said. He turned around and walked back to the cave.

"Sorry, Sid," Ellie said to the sloth. "It must've been your imagination. Just try not to worry, okay?" She patted his shoulder with her trunk. "it's gonna be fine."

Sid sighed and pouted, disappointed that his friends didn't believe him. After a while he followed Manny and Ellie back to the cave.

In the shadows of a tree, a wolf chuckled softly.

"Idiots." He said.


	3. Chapter 2- A spy

**Hey, everybody.**

**I just wanted to thank you all for reading**

**and reviewing this story. I really like writing it.**

** And I just wanted to say that if this story goes well, **

**and if I get enough good ****ideas, there will **

**probably be a sequel.**

**In the meantime, please keep reading and**

**reviewing this story. And thank you very**

**much.**

**...**

**Our Land.**

**Chapter 2 – a spy.**

….

The old wolf sniffed the air again.

"Is that you?" he asked.

"Yes," said a sly sounding voice. "It's me, Seth."

"And?" the old wolf asked.

"Hamlin was right," Seth said. "They aren't a very big herd, but they've got enough strong animals to defend themselves. Three mammoths and two sabers."

"Hm," the old wolf growled.

"It's a strange herd, your grace," Seth continued. "I've never seen a herd with so many different animals before."

"And they can use that to their advantage." The old wolf mumbled to himself. He turned to Seth. "Continue spying on them. See if you can find out more. We have to know more before we can take action."

Seth bowed and tip-toed away.

Hamlin came forward.

"Your grace," he said. "Don't you think we should… you know, try to talk to them first?"

"Later, Hamlin, later," the old wolf said. "first we must find out their weaknesses. Then we will talk. If they won't listen, we can continue with plan B."

Hamlin bowed before his leader. "Yes, Your grace. And another thing…"

"Yes, Hamlin?"

Hamlin gulped. "Well," he said. "Don't…. don't you think Seth will betray you someday? You know he's a coward and will run away at the first sight of danger. And then his association with that… rogue. That lone wolf. "

"He is not associated with her, my dear follower," the old wolf explained. "They merely are old enemies. And do not worry, I've known for quite a while that Seth is a coward. But he's got something that you don't have, Hamlin. He's got stealth. He is a perfect spy, and I don't expect him to do anything else but spying."

"I understand, your grace," Hamlin said, bowing his head.

…

It was night again. While eating, Sid had this strange feeling that something was watching him from behind. He'd felt uneasy the whole day after finding that pawprint. Despite what Manny and Ellie said, Sid was quite sure he had really seen it and that it hadn't been his imagination.

He kept looking behind him, but he only saw the darkness of the forest.

"What's wrong with you, Sid?" Eddie asked.

"Yeah, you seem so nervous," Crash said. "Afraid of the dark?"

The twins giggled.

"I'm still sure there's a monster out there." Sid insisted.

The possum twins stopped laughing.

"A monster, where?" they asked, holding each other tightly and looking around in fear.

"Nowhere," Manny sighed, slightly irritated. "Sid is just seeing things. Don't pay attention to him."

Louis looked around with a worried expression on his face.

"But what if Sid's right and there really is something scary out there?" He asked, his voice trembling.

"Ah, don't be such a wiener," Peaches said.

Louis looked at her with hurt in his eyes. Peaches realized what she had just said.

"Oh, I'm sorry." she said truthfully.

Louis sighed. "It's alright, Peaches." He said.

He just couldn't be angry at her.

"Let's go inside," Manny said.

They all got up and went inside the cave to get some sleep, except for Sid. He remained outside and looked at the dark trees of the forest.

He cleared his throat.

"You don't scare me," he said in a loud tone. "I know you're out there, but you sure don't scare me. I bet you're just a coward who's afraid to show his face. And I bet you're really ugly too. If you're not a coward, come here and proof it to me."

A growling sound came from the darkness of the forest. Sid gave a high-pitched scream and ran inside the cave as fast as he could.

Manny opened an eye when Sid came running in.

"What were you doing?" He asked.

"Nothing," Sid said, a little embarrassed.

"Fine, just go to sleep," Manny said, closing his eye again.

Sid walked over to his bed and lay down. He looked around to see if everybody was asleep and not watching him, then he put his thumb in his mouth and closed his eyes. It didn't last long until he fell asleep.

Outside, the wolf named Seth chuckled.

"Stupid sloth," he said. "I eat creatures like him for breakfast."

"Still spying, Seth?" a female voice behind him said.

Seth turned around. "Oh, it's you again." He said. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see what you're up to," the female wolf said.

"That's cute," Seth giggled.

The female wolf growled.

"Tut, tut, so touchy," Seth said mockingly. "Why don't you lighten up?"

"I don't have time for your nonsense," the female wolf said. She turned around. "Goodbye, Seth."

Seth watched her as she ran away. Should he inform his master that she was here?

No, he didn't have to. She wasn't going to try anything funny, Seth was sure of that. She wanted nothing to do with the pack. If she wanted to become the new leader, she would've tried something by now. But she was still alone, still wandering around, still a lone wolf.

"Any news?" a voice behind Seth said.

Seth turned around to see Hamlin standing behind him.

"Not really," Seth said. "But they do seem really close, these animals. And the sloth is an idiot, that's for sure."

"Did they see you?" Hamlin asked.

"Of course not," Seth said. "I'm a master of stealth, remember? Only the sloth suspects something, but the others don't believe him."

"Good," Hamlin said. "But if something goes wrong, Seth, I will tell the alpha about it. And he will not be happy."

"I won't screw up," Seth said, slightly insulted. "I'm not big and clumsy, like you."

Hamlin growled and pinned Seth to the ground.

"Take that back, you pathetic worm!" he growled.

"Go ahead, kill me," Seth said. "the alpha will destroy you if you do so."

"One wrong move, Seth, and you're dead," Hamlin shouted.

"Sss!" Seth hissed.

They both looked around to the cave of the herd.

Manny had come outside and looked around.

"Anyone there?" he asked.

The two wolves kept quiet.

"If you're out there, keep you mouth shut," Manny shouted into the darkness. "Some mammals ere trying to sleep here."

He went back into the cave.

"See what you've done?" Seth hissed. "I will tell his grace about this."

Hamlin let him go and the wolf ran away in the direction of the wolf den.

…

The old wolf, the alpha male of the group, was lying in the shelter of a rock, his eyes wide open, his head resting on his paws. He didn't move.

After a while, he sighed.

"Just because I cannot see you, doesn't mean I don't know you're there." He said.

"You are good, your grace," Seth said. He chuckled.

"What is it now, Seth?" the alpha wolf asked.

"I was spying on this herd," Seth said. "And then Hamlin came and ruined everything."

"What do you mean?"

"He was shouting at me, and the male mammoth heard us. We were almost caught."

The old alpha wolf growled.

"Hamlin!" He shouted.


	4. Chapter 3 - Pack of wolves

**Our Land.**

**Chapter 3 – pack of wolves.**

….

"Y-yes, your grace?" Hamlin asked, his head low and his tail between his legs.

"What's this I hear from Seth?" the old alpha wolf growled. "Have you been bothering him during his work?"

"I was only making sure he didn't betray us." Hamlin said. "your grace." He added quickly.

"Who, me?" Seth said. "Where did you get that idea? I'm loyal to my master, I would never betray him."

Hamlin growled. "Don't play innocent, Seth," he said. "I know you would betray us as soon as you find a higher bidder."

"Silence!" the alpha wolf growled. "Hamlin, you should leave Seth alone during his job. We need him, and we can't have you spoiling everything."

"Yes, your grace," Hamlin said, humbly bowing his head.

"And you, Seth," the alpha said, turning to the other wolf. "you know that if you betray us, I will find you and kill you. I may not see you, but I can smell you. I can hear you. I can sense your presence. Be warned."

"Yes, master," Seth said, nodding his head.

"Now go back to work!"

Seth tip-toed away again, snickering softly.

"There's more, your grace," Hamlin said "I saw Seth talking to that… that lone wolf earlier."

"We don't need to worry about her," the old alpha wolf said. "she will not bother us."

"Who is she, anyway?" Hamlin asked.

"Nobody," said the leader. "Just an old foe. But not to worry, she is not of our concern anymore. Now leave."

"Yes, your grace." Hamlin said.

…

"I told you there was a monster out there." Sid said to Manny.

"Oh, not this again." Manny grunted.

"You heard it yourself!" Sid said. "it was growling at me earlier, and later you heard him scream as well."

"It was just some noisy animals." Manny said. "Now stop worrying about it and help me look for food."

It was morning again, and Sid, Manny, Ellie, Granny and Crash and Eddie were out looking for their breakfast. Shira and Diego were somewhere in the forest hunting.

Granny picked up a rock and tried to bite it. "My, that's one strong apple." She said.

"That's a stone, Granny," Ellie said.

"You think I don't know the difference between an apple and a stone?" Granny said, insulted.

"No, I'm sorry Granny." Ellie said, chuckling.

"I do wonder where the other animals are," Manny said. "We should have seen some of our neighbors by now."

"That's because our neighbors are monsters." Sid said.

"Sid!" Manny said. "Stop it! There are no monsters here."

"Ha, if there's a monster, I'll scare it off," Granny said, waving her walking stick around.

"Sure you will, Granny," Crash said.

"We're rooting for you," said Eddie.

There was a sound in the bushes.

"Aaah, it's the monster!" Sid cried out, and he hid behind Manny.

But out of the bushes jumped a grey saber-toothed squirrel. He looked around, sniffed the air, then ran to an acorn and picked it up. He looked around one more time, then disappeared in the bushes again.

Crash and Eddie were laughing.

"Oooh, what a scary monster!" Crash cried out.

"Yeah, very funny guys." Sid said. "I forgot how to laugh."

They continued looking for food, and Sid didn't mention the monster again.

…

"Hurry up, slowpoke!"

Shira laughed as she ran through the woods.

She and Diego were following a stag. The animal was running for his life, but the two sabers were catching up.

"Slowpoke?" Diego said. "Watch this!"

He began running even faster, but Shira could keep up with him easily. They laughed. The stag was getting closer and closer. Shira jumped into the air, her claws spread, her teeth bared.

And suddenly, something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. She seemed to stop in the middle of the jump, and fell on the ground.

The stag disappeared between the trees.

Diego stopped next to Shira.

"What are you doing?" he said. "We almost had him."

Shira didn't listen.

"Look," she said, pointing to something between the trees.

Diego followed her paw with his eyes.

Between the trees was a dead animal. Some kind of huge stag. His belly had been ripped open, and the carcass was half eaten.

"We didn't do that." Shira said. "Who killed that stag?"

"Other sabers?" Diego asked.

"No," Shira said as she walked closer and looked at the ground. "These pawprints are too small to be from sabers. And just look at that carcass. It looks like it's been torn apart by a pack of hungry wolves."

Suddenly Shira and Diego looked at each other and both thought the same thing.

"Wolves!"

….

"Where are Shira and Diego?" Peaches asked. "You think they would've been home by now."

They were all eating breakfast in front of the cave.

"Maybe they just need some time alone," Ellie said. "Let's not bother them."

"Alone to do what?" Eddie asked.

Ellie didn't answer.

Suddenly, Shira and Diego came running towards them. When they were close to the others, they stopped and stood there for a while, panting.

"Wolves!" Shira was the first to open her mouth. "There are wolves here."

"What?" Manny said, standing up.

"How do you know this?" Ellie asked.

"We saw a carcass that they left," Diego explained. "We recognized their pawprints."

"I knew it!" Sid cried out. "I knew there was something scary out there. But would you listen to me? Nooo, You wouldn't. 'It was your imagination, Sid', 'stop it, Sid', 'There's nothing out there, Sid'. Now who's laughing, huh?"

"If you don't shut up…" Manny started, but Ellie interrupted him.

"I'm sorry, Sid, it was wrong of us not to believe you and listen to you." She said.

Manny sighed. "Yes, Sid," he said. "I'm sorry."

"But we need to know who these wolves are," Diego said. "We don't know if they're friendly or not. We don't know with how many they are. We don't know if they will attack us."

"I can answer that," a voice behind them suddenly said.

They all turned around to see a wolf standing behind them, with a big smirk on his face.


	5. Chapter 4 - Bela

**Our Land**

**Chapter 4 – Bela**

…

The herd stared at the wolf.

He was light brown, with yellow eyes. He was quite small for a wolf. Behind his ear he had a brown feather.

"Who are you?" Diego growled, standing in front of the others to protect them.

The wolf tilted his head. "My name is Seth." He said.

"And what do you want?" Manny asked, stepping forward.

"I came to bring you a message," Seth answered. "My master, the alpha wolf who owns this forest, would like to kindly ask you to leave this place and go live somewhere else."

"What do you mean 'owns this forest'?" Manny asked. "The forest is for every animal."

"This forest is property of his grace the alpha wolf," Seth said in a louder tone. "And he wants you out of here."

"Why?" Ellie asked.

"Because Mammoths and Sabers aren't allowed here," Seth said.

"That's ridiculous," Diego growled.

"His forest, his rules," Said Seth.

"Listen, Seth," Manny said, stepping forward a little bit more. "we would like to talk to your leader. Maybe we can come to an agreement. Go back to him and tell him to come to us at nightfall."

Seth nodded, turned around and ran away into the forest.

Manny and Ellie gave each other a look.

"I hope this alpha wolf is a reasonable person," Ellie said. "I would hate for us to leave this place. We finally thought we had found a nice home."

"Yeah, and I was just starting to like it here," Peaches admitted.

"We'll talk to this wolf," Manny said. "I'll make sure he'll change his mind."

"I hope so," Shira said with a frown.

From behind the bushes, a grey female wolf was watching the herd. She shook her head.

"Foolish herd," she said. "But brave."

She frowned. Could she? Should she?

She wasn't sure. Maybe, if they all worked together… and after all, she was a wolf like the others, even though she was a lone wolf. She knew how they though, how they attacked. She knew what the alpha wolf was capable of.

Maybe, just maybe….

…

"Your Grace!"

The old leader stood up.

"Seth?" he asked.

"Yes, master," said Seth, bowing.

"What's the news?" the alpha asked.

"The herd wants to talk to you," answered Seth. "They think they can come to an agreement with you."

"When?" Asked the alpha.

"At nightfall," was the answer.

The alpha wolf smiled. "good," he said. "Then I'll be there, at nightfall."

…

The sun was setting, the sky grew darker. Sid made a fire in front of the cave. The herd ate their dinner. And they waited.

"Do you think he'll come?" Diego asked Manny.

"I hope so," Manny just said.

They watched as the sun disappeared behind the horizon. In the grass, the sound of crickets started. One by one, the stars became visible in the sky.

"Look!" Sid suddenly said.

The herd looked around to where the sloth was pointing.

One by one, wolves began to appear from the shadows. Wolves in all shades of grey and brown. All of them wore feathers behind heir ears, some of them had entire headgears of feathers and bones. Others wore necklaces made of teeth and bones. Some of them had painted stripes and pawprints on their fur.

Seth appeared, with another wolf next to him. A grey one with a black feather behind his ear. They sat down at a short distance of the herd. The grey wolf cleared his throat.

"I present to you, his grace the alpha wolf, leader of the wolves, master of the forest, our master Bela the alpha."

Then the leader of the wolves appeared from the shadows.

He was a large wolf, with a white fur. On his head he wore a large bird skull as some sort of helmet. It hid most of his face. Attached to the bird skull were feathers.

All the wolves bowed their head respectfully for the alpha wolf.

The herd had to admit, he looked impressive.

"So," Bela the alpha wolf said as he sat down. "What is it you wanted to talk with me about?"

Manny stepped forward. "Ehm, hello," he said. "My name is Manfred, and…"

Bela interrupted him.

"Are you the mammoth?" He asked.

"Yes, you can see me, can't you?" said Manny, frowning.

"Unfortunately," Said Bela as he took off his bird skull. "I have not been able to see for many years."

His face was covered with big, ugly scars. His eyes were like two smooth, white pearls in his face. He was blind.

"Oh, I… I'm sorry to hear that," Manny said.

"No matter," Bela replied, putting his bird skull back on his head. "Now, tell me, Manfred the Mammoth, what do you want."

"Well," Manny said. "I know you want us to go away. But, we just got here and we really like it here. It's a nice, calm place to live. And we don't take that much place."

"I'm not going to allow you to stay," Bela said calmly. "You see, we have an agreement. We will keep this forest free from all predators, except for us wolves. And in return, the deer and other prey animals will not all leave the forest."

"You can't do that," Diego said. "the forest is for everybody."

Bela stood up and growled. "The forest is mine!" He said. "My forest, my rules."

"The forest is supposed to be a free place to live for everybody!" Manny shouted. "You can't keep it all to yourself."

"Yes I can," said Bela. "I have the power here."

"Well we're not leaving!" Manny said stubbornly.

"Manny…" Ellie said, putting her trunk on her husband's shoulder. But Manny didn't listen.

"If you want a forest al for yourself, move out of this one and go find another one. We will stay here!" said the mammoth.

"Yeah, you don't scare us, wolves!" Sid shouted, and he threw a rock at Bela.

The rock hit the old wolf on the shoulder. He growled.

"Hamlin!"

The grey wolf with the black feather suddenly jumped on Sid with a snarl. He put his paw on the sloth's throat and pushed hard. Sid made a choking sound.

Before it could go any further, Diego pushed the wolf off the sloth. Hamlin fell on the ground, but quickly stood up again and growled at Diego, the hairs in his neck standing up straight. Diego growled back, ready to attack again.

"Enough," Bela said.

Hamlin immediately went to his master's side again.

"Listen, mammoth," Bela said, raising his voice. "If you are not gone here by tomorrow, we will take more drastic measures."

"That's just a threat," Manny said.

"See at as you like, mammoth," Bela said simply as he stood up. He made a gesture with his head and walked back to the forest. The other wolves followed him loyally. A few looked over their shoulders and growled at the herd.

Seth was the last one to go.

"You're all gonna die," he said to the herd with a smirk. Then he stood up as well and followed the rest of the pack.

Ellie looked at Manny with a worried expression on her face. Manny just looked angry but still self-assured. His decision was final. They would stay there.

Ellie wasn't so sure if that was a good idea.

…

Seth tip-toed through the forest. The other wolves were already far ahead. He couldn't see them anymore. But he knew where they were going. The rocks behind the forest, the wolf's den.

Suddenly, a grey female wolf came walking next to him.

"Oh, hello," Seth said.

"Hello, Seth," said the female wolf.

"You seem in a rather good mood today," Seth remarked. He had to say he was surprised. She was usually so serious.

"So, what are the plans of your alpha wolf?" The female asked. "What is his next move?"

"Do you really think I'm going to tell you?" Seth said mockingly. "You might tell the herd and spoil everything. And why are you suddenly interested anyway?"

"You will see, Seth, You will see," replied the female wolf. And with those words, she disappeared between the bushes again.

Seth stopped walking and sat down. What was that supposed to mean?

He shook his head. She was a strange wolf. He shouldn't worry about it. She was only one wolf, what could she do against an entire pack?

With that, he put it out of his head.

As he continued walking, he didn't know the grey female wolf was still following him.


	6. Chapter 5 - they have Sid

**Our Land.**

**Chapter 5 – They have Sid**

…

It was day. The herd hadn't seen or heard anything of the wolves for the rest of the night. They had disappeared behind the trees again, silent like shadows.

Shira looked at the trees with a worried expression on her face.

"I'm not sure if staying here is the best of ideas, Manny," the black striped saber said. "You saw with how many those wolves were. In a fight, I'm not so sure if we have such a good chance. And that leader… Bela, did not look like he was joking."

But Manny was stubborn as always. "We're not going to let a few wolves get us down," he said. "we made it this far together, we're not going back now."

Ellie shook her head. "Manny, you are an incredibly stubborn mammoth. Can't you use your brain? Those wolves are going to rip us to shreds."

"Of course not," Manny laughed. "We'll think of something. Don't worry. I'm not going to let them hurt you or any of you. They'll have to go through me first."

"That's the spirit, Manny!" Crash cheered.

"Can I eat your food when you're dead?" Eddie asked.

Manny gave them an angry look. The possum twins quickly hid behind Ellie.

Sid sighed and stood up. "I'm going to go find some more food. See you guys." He said, stretching his back.

"See ya, Sid," Diego yawned, resting his head on his paws while keeping his eyes closed.

Sid walked off into the forest. He knew a place where he could find some eatable plants, and maybe even some dandelions.

He didn't know two grey wolves were softly following him. On the sloth's left side, a grey wolf with a black feather behind his ear was hiding between the bushes, and slowly, step for step, following him. Hamlin, Bela's right paw wolf. But even Hamlin was unaware of the second wolf following the sloth. A grey female wolf, who certainly did not belong to Bela's pack. She did know of Hamlin's presence, and kept very quiet to keep both Hamlin and Sid from noticing her. Her grey eyes pried through the trees and the bushes at the sloth and the wolf.

Sid reached the edge of the forest, unaware of his two pursuers. He started searching for edible plants.

Behind the bushes, Hamlin prepared himself to jump.

"Just a little closer, you stupid sloth," he whispered softly. "Just a little closer."

A few feet away from him, the female wolf sat down behind a tree. She peeked around the tree at Hamlin. And then at Sid.

"Ah, a dandelion!" Sid called out when he saw a yellow flower close to some bushes. He quickly ran towards it and leaned over to pick it.

Suddenly, something grey jumped out of the bushes. Sid screamed at the top of his lungs and tried to run away, but the wolf jumped on him and pushed him to the ground.

"Silence, sloth!" he hissed at Sid, holding his paw against the sloth's throat and pushing hard.

"One sound out of you, and I'll kill you!" Hamlin growled.

Sid shut his mouth, his eyes wide in fear.

"Good sloth."

Hamlin took Sid's neck between his jaws, but didn't bite too hard. He started dragging the sloth with him towards the rocks behind the forest. Sid didn't protest, out of fear to be killed. Hamlin's teeth were at his throat; one wrong move and he would be dead.

The female wolf followed them at some distance. She was able to follow them all the way to the wolf's den. There she hid where the trees stopped and the rocks began.

The alpha wolf was lying in the shelter of a rock on a pile of squirrel-pelts. When Hamlin approached, he raised his head and sniffed the air.

"What is that horrible smell?" he asked.

Hamlin dropped Sid on the ground.

"It's the sloth, your grace," he said. "I caught him outside of the forest, as you commanded."

"Good," Bela replied shortly. Then he groaned and covered his nose with his paws. "Blast that smell. Take him away from me. But don't let him escape. We need him."

"Yes, your grace," Hamlin said, bowing his head respectfully.

He growled at Sid. "Stand up, stupid sloth, and move!" he commanded.

Sid quickly got on his feed. Hamlin pushed him with his nose into the right direction, and the sloth started walking, the grey wolf just a few inches behind him.

Hamlin took him further and further into the wolves' living place. There were wolves everywhere. Males, females, grey ones, brown ones, black ones, wolves with headgears and wolves with skulls on their heads as helmets. Most wolves had their own little place to sleep, often under three rocks stacked like dolmens. At some places, cubs were running around, playing.

Most wolves gave Sid looks that creeped him out. They glared at him with contempt in their eyes. Some looked as if they wanted to eat him.

Sid felt an unpleasant shiver down his spine. But he finally got the courage to open his mouth.

"Where are you taking me?" he asked.

"Silence, Sloth!" Hamlin growled.

Sid shut his mouth again.

They arrived at some sort of cage made of the bones of animals. Hamlin opened it by shoving a rock before the opening aside. Then he pushed Sid inside and closed it again.

"Shani!" Hamlin shouted.

A female wolf with a light grey fur came running towards him. She wore a small headgear of feathers.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Guard this sloth," Hamlin ordered.

"Yes, sir." Shani said. She growled at Sid, then sat down in front of the cage.

Hamlin gave her a nod and walked away.

Shani grinned evilly at Sid. "I hope the boss will let us eat you when you're no longer of use to us." She said.

"But I taste really bad," Sid tried to protest.

Shani just giggled. "That's what they all say." She chuckled.

…

Seth walked past the trees of the forest around the wolves' living place. He sniffed the air and recognized the smell of a female wolf.

"Oh, come out," he chuckled. "You can't hide from me."

A grey female wolf stepped into the light, but not too far. She didn't want the other wolves to see her.

"What are you up to, then?" Seth asked.

The female cocked her head to one side. "Nothing," she said. "You know I don't want to have anything to do with you and your pack. I am a lone wolf."

"Then why are you lurking around here?" Seth asked, raising one eyebrow. "hm?"

"It's none of your business." Replied the female.

"Or did you come to see me?" Seth flirted.

"You?" the female scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous." She turned around and walked back into the shadows of the trees.

At that moment, Seth called her name. She stopped and looked over her shoulder at the male wolf.

"If you try anything funny, Bela will know about it." Seth threatened. "And he won't be happy."

"He never is, Seth," said the female wolf. Then she disappeared between the trees.

Seth heard Bela calling him, en he turned around to run towards his master.

…

The sun was already setting, but Sid had not come home yet.

"Sid!" Diego shouted into the forest. "Sid, where are you?!"

"Sid!" Manny also called. "Sid!"

The herd walked around, looking for their friend. They searched the entire forest that evening, but they didn't find Sid.

When they came back home, Seth the wolf was waiting for them at their cave.

"I have a message for you," Seth said with a grin.

"What is it?" Manny asked.

"We have your friend, the smelly sloth," said Seth. "If you are out of this forest by tomorrow, we will let him go. If not, we will kill him."

Manny's eyes widened. Diego growled.

Seth quickly stood up and ran back into the forest before Manny or Diego could do anything to him. He let out a nervous giggle as he ran away.

Manny looked at Ellie.

"What do we do now?" he asked her.

"We're going to have to leave, Manny," Ellie said. "we can't let those wolves kill Sid."

Manny sighed deeply. "You're right." He admitted. He turned around to the rest of the herd. "Guys, make yourself ready to go," he said. "We're leaving."

Peaches sighed. She was actually starting to enjoy herself around here. But she didn't want her uncle Sid to be killed either.

Between the trees, a grey female wolf hid in the shadows. She hesitated. She hated working together with others. She never trusted anybody.

But if she wanted to achieve her goal, she would have to do this. She sighed. She touched the scars on her upper front paw. No, she had to do this.

She stood up, and finally stepped out of the protection of the shadows into the moonlight.

"You can leave if you want," she said. The herd turned around.

"But Bela is not going to let your friend go." The female wolf finished.

She looked straight into Manny's eyes, and her eyes seemed to burn right into his soul.


	7. Chapter 6 - the lone female

**Our Land.**

**Chapter 6 – the lone female. **

…

The herd looked at the female wolf. She was grey, with slightly lighter grey eyes. Only the tip of her tail was black. She had a longer tuft of hair on her head, between her ears, which covered a part of her forehead. On her upper right front paw, she had two scars right next to each other, like some animal had scratched her there. Unlike the other wolves, she didn't wear any feathers or bones.

She had a deadly serious expression on her face.

The herd didn't answer to what she had said, but suddenly Diego jumped forward and pushed the female wolf to the ground.

"You!" he growled. "give us back our friend."

"I don't have your friend," the female said.

"Yes you do," Manny said, stepping forward. "you and your pack are keeping him imprisoned in your lair."

"You are wrong," replied the female. "I'm not part of Bela's pack. I am a lone wolf."

"Do you really expect us to believe that?" Diego growled. "You're just trying to trick us."

"You are a fool," said the female wolf.

"Say that again, and I'll kill you!" Diego hissed.

Shira stepped forward. "Wait, Diego," she said. "She can help us. Now that we have her, we have something to bargain with. We'll tell them that they will have her back when we get Sid back."

"Great idea, Shira." Said Manny.

The female wolf shook her head. "You're making a great mistake. If you will just let me explain…"

But Diego pushed his paw against her throat to make her stop talking. She made a choking sound.

"Diego, please be gentle," Ellie said.

Diego removed his paw.

Not much later, they had the female wolf tied up in front of their cave. Crash and Eddie were dancing around her, singing and laughing. But when she growled at them, they quickly hid behind Diego and Shira.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Manny," Ellie said to her husband.

Manny sighed. "I hope so too," he admitted.

That night, they each took turns in guarding the female wolf. From time to time, she tried to talk to her guard, but she was always cut off. By the time it was morning, she had decided not to say anything anymore.

The herd woke up again. When they left the cage, they saw a brown wolf sitting at the edge of the forest.

Seth chuckled evilly. "So, you have decided to stay," he said. "How foolish of you."

Manny stepped forward. "Not as foolish as you might think, Seth." He grinned. "You have one of us, but we have one of you too."

Seth's smile faded. "Really?"

Manny made a gesture with his head to Diego, who then pushed the grey female wolf into the daylight. Manny turned to Seth again with a satisfied expression on his face.

"There you go," said the mammoth. "Are you ready to bargain?"

Seth stared at the female wolf for a while. The he started to laugh. The herd looked at him, confused. Still giggling, the brown wolf stood up and walked towards the grey female.

"In a bit of a pickle there, aren't you, Sierra?" He chuckled.

The female growled at him. "Shut up, Seth."

Seth laughed again. "Oh, this is just too great!" He cried out, tearing up from laughter. "You guys actually think you will get your friend back with her? Hahaha! It's hilarious. You mammals are so funny!"

"What are you talking about?" Diego asked.

"Sierra isn't part of our pack," Seth laughed. "she's a bloody lone wolf, a rogue, a lonely, lonely female. And Bela doesn't care one bit about what happens to her. You can kill her if you want."

"What?" Manny exclaimed.

The female wolf looked at him. "I told you." She hissed.

Still laughing, Seth tip-toed back into the forest. "This I gotta tell the boss!" They heard him giggle before he disappeared.

Manny untied the female wolf.

"I am so sorry," he said. "I really didn't know. Please accept my apologies. Sierra, isn't it?"

The female stood up and shook her fur. "Yes," She said. "My name is Sierra."

"Is there any way we can make it up to you?" Ellie asked.

"I am just glad you believe me now."

"And we are glad to hear that you're on our side." Said Shira.

But Sierra shook her head. "No," she replied. "I'm not on your side. Nor am I on Bela's side. I am a lone wolf, I don't belong to anyone's side."

Manny frowned. "So are you a friend or a foe?" he asked.

"Neither," said Sierra. "But I did come here with an offer."

"We're listening." Said Ellie before Manny could say anything.

"I am offering you my help, in return of yours," Sierra explained. "I will help you get your friend back, and you will help me achieve my goal."

"And what is that goal?" Diego asked.

Sierra looked at him with her serious grey eyes. "The death of Bela the alpha." was her answer.

There was a long silence. Everyone stared at Sierra.

"Why?" Peaches asked then.

Sierra turned to look at her. "That's my business, not yours." She simply said.

"How can you help us?" Manny asked.

"I know how Bela and his pack think," Sierra explained. "I can spy on them, I know where their strengths and weaknesses are. I can even go undercover in their pack to spy on them. And I can also fight pretty well, when needed."

"Isn't there an easier way to get Sid back?" Louis asked. "A less dangerous one?"

Sierra shook her head. "Bela is not planning on letting Sid go," she said. "since you and your herd came here, a lot of prey animals consider their deal with Bela broken and have left the forest. Usually Bela doesn't break deals, but now that the pack is starting to get hungry, he can't let an easy prey like a sloth go. He will let his wolves eat Sid. And fast too, if we don't act soon."

"And how can we help you?" Asked Ellie.

"Bela is strong," answered Sierra. "I can't handle him on my own, but with two sabers on my side I will be able to defeat him."

There was a long silence, as the members of the herd exchanged looks.

"So, what is your answer?" Asked Sierra, who got tired of waiting. "I'm not very fond of cooperating either, but in this case I have no other choice."

Manny sighed. "Alright, Sierra," He said. "we accept your help. I suppose we're just going to have to trust you to get Sid back."

"Good mammoth," said Sierra. "Now, here is my plan…"


	8. Chapter 7 - undercover wolf

**Our Land.**

**Chapter 7 – undercover wolf.**

….

While the sky grew darker, the herd members returned to their cave. They had collected feathers from the forest, and Diego and Shira brought the skull of a young deer they had killed a few days ago.

At the cave, Sierra had been mixing a special kind of sand with some water and mud to create some sort of red paint.

"Are you sure they won't notice and extra wolf?" Manny asked her.

Sierra shook her head. "No, the pack is very big," she said. "they won't notice me if I keep a low profile and avoid the higher-ranked wolves."

"Good," Manny nodded. "Good…"

Sierra stood up, walked over to a patch of sand next to the cave and started rolling in it, until her fur started to look like it was more brown-ish than grey. Then she took the deer skull from Diego and put it over her head, so that it hid most of her face and made her hard to recognize. She added some feathers to her headgear.

Lastly, she painted a paw print on her upper front leg to hide her scars.

"Wow, I hardly recognize you," said Peaches, looking at the female wolf.

Sierra nodded. "Good," she said. "then the pack will probably fall for it too."

"And luckily Bela is blind," pointed Shira out.

But now Sierra shook her head. "I can't come near Bela," she explained. "he has a great sense of smell. The sand in my fur will cover my scent mostly for the other wolves, but Bela will be able to smell that it's me. I'll have to stay away from him."

"How can he have such a good nose?" Ellie wondered.

"He's blind," Sierra simply said. "when you're blind, you start to develop your other senses better. That's why he can smell and hear better than any other wolf."

She looked up at the sky. "It's night," she said. "I should go."

"Good luck, Sierra." Said Peaches.

Sierra didn't answer. She stood up and walked into the forest without looking back at the herd. The herd looked at her until she disappeared in the shadows as she could do so well.

"I hope we can trust her," Manny said, frowning.

"It's the only thing we can do to get Sid back," Ellie replied.

…

Sierra ran through the forest, the feathers of her headgear bouncing up and down at the rhythm of her paws. She was a fast wolf, and it didn't last long until she reached the wolves' lair. She stopped running and stood still for a while, staring at the large rocks in between which the wolves had made their home. She took a deep breath, then walked calmly towards the rocks, trying her best to look completely comfortable.

She came closer and closer. The wolves didn't even give her a second look. A brown male smiled at her, and she smiled back as if nothing strange was going on.

Suddenly, someone shouted: "You there!"

Sierra stood still and looked up.

On a rock in front of her stood Hamlin.

Sierra's heart stared beating faster. What if he recognized her?

"What's your name?" Hamlin asked.

"Er…" Sierra said. "Alana." It was the first name she could think of. But it wasn't just any name.

"Well, Alana," said Hamlin. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Back to my place," Sierra answered. "Sir." She added.

"Well his grace is still hungry," said Hamlin. "go and get him something to eat."

"Yes, sir." Sierra obeyed.

She ran back into the forest.

So Hamlin had not recognized her. That was a good sign.

She hunted in the forest and caught a hare. With one powerful bite she snapped it's neck, and she brought it back to the wolves' den. There Hamlin was waiting for her. She handed over the hare.

"Good," Hamlin said. "Now you can go, Alana."

Sierra nodded and walked further into the wolves' living place.

She passed the Witch Wolf, the pack's healer, who was busy with a fire. A few wolves were sitting around him to look at what he was doing. Sierra sat with them for a while, and watched the Witch Wolf throw all kinds of powder into the fire.

"What is he doing?" Sierra asked the wolf next to her, a large and handsome grey male.

"Something with good fortune," he answered. "I don't really understand it either."

Sierra stood up again and continued walking. She passed many wolves, but none seemed to recognize her as a stranger. Nobody gave her another look. It was almost strange how easily this went.

Suddenly Sierra stopped. Her path had crossed that of Seth.

The small brown wolf looked at her with his head tilted to one side.

"Do I know you?" he asked.

"Eh, no," Sierra said, changing the pitch of her voice so that Seth wouldn't recognize her. "I'm Alana."

"Never heard of," said Seth. He walked past her. "But you should take a bath, you can't even see what kind of colour your fur is with all that sand."

Sierra waited until he had gone, then she continued walking.

Finally, she reached the back of the wolves' lair. There she saw the cage with the sloth in it, and the wolf guarding it.

She stepped closer.

The guard, a grey female wolf with a small headgear of feathers, stood up and growled.

"Not a step closer, you." She hissed.

"Don't worry…. What's your name again?" Sierra said.

"I'm Shani," the other female replied with her nose in the air. "And who might you be?"

"Alana," said Sierra. "I've come to take your place as guard, Shani."

"And why would that be?" Shani growled.

"Bela's orders." Sierra replied simply.

Shani stopped growling and stood up. Giving Sierra a look full of suspicion, she walked away.

Sierra went to the cage and sat in front of it. She looked around to be sure no one was near. Then she turned to the sloth.

"You," she said. "Sid, isn't it?"

"Eh, yes?" Sid replied, walking towards the bars.

"Good," said Sierra. "My name is Sierra, your herd send me. I've come to take you away from here."

"Really?" Sid called out. "Yes!"

Sierra slapped her paw over his mouth.

"Ssst!" she hissed. "Keep quiet, nobody can hear us. Listen, we have to wait until dawn, then everyone will go to sleep. That's the moment for us to escape."

Sid nodded.

"So hush," Sierra said, removing her paw.

"Yeah," Sid whispered. "Don't worry, I'll be quiet. I'll be as quiet as can be. You won't even notice I'm here, honestly, I…"

"Ssst!" Sierra hissed again.

Sid shut his mouth and covered it with both his paws.

"Good sloth," Sierra said.

She turned her head up to the night sky, and started to wait.

…

"Can we eat the sloth yet?" Seth asked.

Bela shook his head. "No," he said. "Maybe we can use him. I want that herd out of here."

"But the pack is hungry," Hamlin protested.

"And you think one sloth can feed them?" Bela scoffed.

Hamlin bowed his head. Bela was right, one sloth was not enough to feed an entire pack, especially not such a big one.

"I'd eat him myself if he didn't smell so horrible," Bela said. "If the time is right, you can have him, Seth."

"Why Seth?" Hamlin asked jealously. "why not me? I'm your right paw wolf."

"Don't argue with me, Hamlin," Bela growled.

Hamlin immediately shut his mouth. Seth gave him a mocking smile, and got a death-glare in return that only made him giggle.

"Silence you two." Bela grunted.

The whole situation annoyed him. That herd, that foul-smelling sloth, the rivalry between Seth and Hamlin. And that Sierra, that lone wolf. Was she up to something after all?

He would just have to see.


	9. Chapter 8 - Escape

**Our Land.**

**Chapter 8 – Escape.**

…

The dawn came, and slowly all the wolves went to the lair to sleep. Nobody seemed to even notice the disguised Sierra standing guard before the cage with the sloth in it.

When everything became quiet as the sun rose higher in the sky, Sierra turned around to the cage.

"Okay, Sid," she said softly. "It's time. I know a quick way out."

She removed the heavy stone that kept the cage closed and Sid got out.

"Follow me," Sierra whispered.

Quickly, but not too fast so that Sid could still keep up with her, Sierra began walking to the safety of the forest. Sid followed her.

It wasn't much further. Just past those rocks, and they would be out.

Suddenly, three wolves jumped in front of them. Sierra immediately stopped, and Sid accidentally bumped into her.

The three wolves were Hamlin, Shani and Seth.

"You!" Hamlin growled. "I knew there was something suspicious about you, 'Alana'. Who are you?"

"Nobody," Sierra said. She looked over her shoulder at Sid.

"Run, sloth!" she hissed. Then she jumped forward and pushed Hamlin over. She sunk her teeth into his throat.

Sid didn't hesitate, he ran as fast at he could into the safety of the forest. But Shani stared to follow him, and she was faster than him.

Sierra let Hamlin go and ran after Shani as fast as she could. She jumped on the female wolf, pushed her to the ground and bit the first thing she could sink her teeth into: Shani's ear. Shani let out a cry of pain.

Sid ran as fast as he could into the direction of the cave where the herd lived. He looked back and saw Sierra struggling with Shani and Hamlin. Hamlin had blood in his fur around his neck, but it didn't seem like he had anything lethal.

Sierra looked up and saw Sid disappear between the trees. She bit harder on Shani's ear, until it was ripped off her head and fell on the ground.

Shani made a whimpering sound and struggled to get out of Sierra's grasp. She succeeded when Hamlin attacked Sierra. He bit the back of her neck and with his paws he pulled the deer skull off of the she-wolf's head. Sierra kicked Hamlin with her back leg, and he let go. She tried to run away, but was now stopped by Seth.

He didn't attack her, he just blocked her way. But Sierra didn't have time for that, she decided. Before Seth could back away, she attacked him and bit his shoulder. Seth yelped in pain.

"Please don't kill me!" he begged.

Sierra let go and jumped over him. She looked back for just a second, and Seth could see her eyes.

"Sierra?" He said, astonished.

Then Sierra ran away, and soon disappeared between the trees.

Seth stood up and looked at his shoulder. It was bleeding.

Hamlin walked towards Shani.

"Are you alright, Shani?" he asked.

Shani just made a whining sound and covered the bleeding stump of her ear with her paw.

"We'll get that looked after," Hamlin said. Then he turned to Seth.

"Much help you were, you coward," he growled.

"I tried to stop her," Seth protested with a childish pout on his face. "And look at what she did to my shoulder, she drew blood!"

"Don't be such a wiener!" Hamlin snapped.

"But I do know who that she-wolf was," Seth suddenly said.

Hamlin turned his ears. "Really? Who was it then?"

Seth stubbornly turned his head away. "First apologize!" he said.

Hamlin sighed in annoyance. "Okay, okay," he sighed. "I'm sorry, Seth. Now tell me."

Seth grinned. "It was Sierra," he chuckled.

…

"Sid!" the herd called out when the sloth appeared from the forest. Peaches ran forward to hug her uncle.

"I'm so glad to see you," Ellie said. "We were afraid you would be dead. "

"Nah, I'm fine," Sid said with a grin. "Really. But I am hungry…"

Manny shoved some vegetables towards him, and the sloth immediately began to eat.

"Where is Sierra?" Shira asked.

"Oh, she stayed behind," Sid mumbled with his mouth full. "Three wolves tried to stop us, and Sierra started to fight them so that I could get away."

Ellie frowned. "I hope she will be alright."

"Who cares, we have Sid back, right?" said Crash.

"Yes, but we still have our deal with Sierra," Ellie reminded him. "We have to help her. And we can't leave now."

Manny sighed. "This is all my fault," he said. "If I hadn't been so stubborn, this wouldn't have happened."

"It's my fault too, Manny," said Diego. "I was just as stubborn as you. Don't blame this all on yourself."

"Stop pitying yourself, you two," Ellie said sternly. "we don't have time to play the blame game. We have a deal with Sierra now, and we can't let her down."

"I'm not going back to those wolves," Sid said, shuddering. "No way!"

"You don't have to, Sid," said Ellie. "We're just going to wait until Sierra comes back. If she comes back."

They sat down in front of the cave and waited.

…

Sierra hid herself in the small cave she called home. Her neck was bleeding. She lied down on the cold stone and started licking her wounds. Those that she could reach, at least. She had made a mistake. Seth had recognized her, and he would surely tell Bela about it.

"This is what you get when you work together, Sierra," The she-wolf said to herself. "You have to got each other's back. And that always turns out in misery."

But at least this part of her plan was complete. She had helped that herd get back their friend. Now they had to help her to kill Bela the alpha.

And then, sweet, sweet revenge would be hers.

"Not much longer, Bela," Sierra said out loud. "Not much longer."

…

"Sierra?" Bela said. "Are you sure it was her, Seth?"

Seth nodded. "Very sure, your grace."

"My ear hurts," Shani whined.

Bela growled softly in annoyance. "Go to the Witch Wolf, he'll give you something against it." He told her.

Shani walked away, her head and tail low and with a pout on her face.

Bela sat down and his blind eyes seemed to stare into the distance, though it was clear that they could see nothing. Nothing at all but black darkness.

"Sierra," Bela mumbled to himself. "So, after all…."

"What did you say, your grace?" Hamlin asked curiously.

Bela growled. "Nothing," he said. "Go back to your bed and stay there. I'll take care of that 'lone wolf' myself later."


	10. Chapter 9 - a moment of peace

**Our Land.**

**Chapter 9 – A moment of peace.**

…

The whole day, the herd had seen nothing of the wolves. But they didn't trust the sudden peace. They knew that the wolves were probably planning their next move right now. Bela would not give up.

Manny regretted his stubbornness. So did Diego. Both of them had apologized a thousand times to Sid, because it was their fault he had gotten kidnapped. Sid had forgiven them, he was just glad to be free again.

But deep inside, Manny and Diego were still angry at Bela. It was true, the forest should be a free place to live for every animal. The wolves had no right to terrorize it the way they did. Shira agreed with them. She didn't feel much like leaving either. After she had left the pirates, she finally had a place to call home now. She didn't feel like giving it up so fast.

Ellie would rather leave this place than bring her family in trouble. But she knew they couldn't, not yet. They had a deal with Sierra, and they weren't the type to back away on deals. Besides, if they did defeat Bela, maybe they could come to an agreement with the other wolves and they could all live in peace. Ellie hoped so.

Peaches sighed. "Mom!" she said. "Why won't you let me go out into the forest? I'm so bored."

"Those wolves are still out there, honey," Ellie said. "I don't want to lose you. I'm sorry, you can't go out today."

"What if Louis comes with me?" Peaches begged. "Don't you remember how he kicked those pirates' butt?"

Ellie sighed. "It's still too dangerous. And I think Louis agrees with me." She looked at the molehog.

Louis nodded and looked at Peaches. "Peaches, if anything would happen to you, I don't know what I'd do." He said.

Peaches made a frustrating sound and rested her head on her front paws.

"We don't make those sounds, young lady," Manny said sternly. "you're staying here where it's safe, and that's final."

"But how are we going to get food if we can't leave?" Eddie asked. "We'll starve to death."

"No we won't," said Diego. "Shira, Manny and I will go out and look for food. We're the strongest of the herd, we are in less danger than the rest of you."

"You think I can't take care of myself?" Ellie said, a little insulted.

"Of course we do," Manny assured her. "But we need you to take care of the others around here. You can do that, right?"

Ellie nodded. "Okay, Manny," she said. "But be careful out there."

She nuzzled her husband before he turned around and walked into the forest, followed by the two sabers.

"This is so unfair," Peaches whined. "I wanna go out."

"When it's safe, you can go out whenever you want, sweetie." Ellie told her daughter.

Peaches sighed again. "I know, mom."

…

The reason the wolves were so quiet that day was because they had other things on their mind. A part of the pack was out hunting, while another group stayed and guarded the lair. Hamlin was in charge of those wolves until the alpha wolf returned. He was sitting on Bela's rock. He wasn't actually allowed to sit there, but he knew Bela would be away for a little longer.

Shani came walking towards him. She had a dead mouse in her mouth.

"Here," she said. "Something to eat."

"I don't need you to take care of me, Shani." Hamlin sighed.

"Don't whine, it's from mother," Shani giggled.

"Oh, in that case I'd better eat it," Hamlin said, smiling. He jumped off the rock and walked towards his little sister. Before he took a bite of the mouse, he looked at Shani.

"How is your ear doing?" he asked.

Shani touched what was left of her ear with her paw. "Hm, it stopped hurting after the Witch Wolf gave me some medicine." She said.

Hamlin began eating the mouse. "How is mother?" he asked with his mouth full.

"Oh, same old same old, you know," Shani shrugged. "It's a shame you don't spend much time with us anymore, Hamlin. But I suppose you're very busy as Bela's right paw wolf."

"Yes, I sure am," Hamlin mumbled with his mouth full of mouse.

"I wish I could be more like you," Shani sighed. "I wanna be important and strong and big too."

Hamlin swallowed the last piece of meat, licked the blood off his lips and smiled at the young she-wolf. He put a paw on her shoulder.

"I'm sure some day you will be, little sister." He said.

…

Bela knew the forest better than anyone. He had lived here for many years. Even now that he was blind he could still find his way through the trees. He knew every tree, every rock, every patch of grass. He could recognize them just by their smell, their sound and the feeling of their structure.

He didn't walk slower because he was blind. He walked just as fast as any normal wolf. If you didn't know him, you almost wouldn't be able to tell that he was blind. If it wasn't for those sightless, white eyes with no pupils in them.

Bela sniffed the air. He could smell Sierra. She had been in this place. This small hidden cave in the forest. And she had been here many times, he could tell by how strong her smell was.

He knew this place well. He had been here many years ago, back when he still had his eyes.

He shook the thought off him.

Sierra wasn't there anymore. He didn't feel any other presence than the warm stone. So he turned around and left the cave.

He sniffed the ground. He could smell her tracks. He carefully started to follow his nose, making sure he didn't walk into any trees or rocks. After a while, he understood where the trail was leading. It was leading to the cave where the herd stayed.

"So, looking for sanctuary, are you?" Bela muttered. "Fine, Sierra. I can wait."

He wouldn't go to the herd alone. He was strong, that was for sure. But he was also old and blind. He wouldn't be able to defeat the entire herd on his own.

He wondered. Was it the right time to attack yet? If he decided to attack, he would have to plan it carefully. After all, the herd still had three mammoths and two sabers who would be able to put up quite a fight.

Bela turned around and walked back to the wolves' den. Maybe it was time to plan an attack now. Before the herd and Sierra came up with a plan of their own.


	11. Chapter 10 - Granny

**Our Land.**

**Chapter 10 – Granny**

…

Ellie looked behind her when she heard a sound. She saw a grey wolf appearing from the forest.

"Sierra, you've escaped," she said, relieved.

Sierra sat down. She looked tired and weak.

"Are you alright?" Ellie asked her. She put her trunk on the female wolf's shoulder. But she shook it off her.

"I'm fine," Sierra said.

"Wait, you're Sierra?" a confused Sid said. "But Sierra looked very different. She was brown, and had a pawprint on her shoulder, and…"

"I was in disguise," Sierra snapped at him in annoyance. "Do you really think I would've walked into Bela's lair without a disguise? I would have been killed on the spot."

Sid was silent for a while. "Oooh," he said then. "Now I get it."

Sierra looked around. "Where are the others?" she asked.

"Manny, Diego and Shira are out getting food," Ellie answered.

"And the old sloth?" Sierra asked.

Ellie was silent for a while as the realization hit her. How could she have missed this? They hadn't seen Granny for a while. How could she not have noticed that before? Granny was such a loud-mouthed sloth, it was a miracle nobody had noticed that she was gone.

"Granny!" Sid cried out. "Ellie, Granny is gone!"

"Oh no!" Ellie exclaimed. "We were so focused on the fact that Sid was kidnapped that we didn't even realize Granny has disappeared." She turned to Sid. "Oh, Sid, I'm so sorry. We should have looked after her better."

"We have to find her!" Sid screamed out. "Who knows what will happen to her if she's all alone in the forest? She'll get killed! Or eaten! Or eaten and then killed!"

"Calm down, uncle Sid," Peaches said as she stood up. "Me and Louis will go look for her."

"No chance, young lady," Ellie said. "Sierra and I will go, you go hide in the cave and make sure you're safe."

"But mom…" Peaches said.

"No buts," Ellie said sternly. "Go in the cave, now."

Peaches sighed and obeyed her mother.

"I'm coming with you," Sid said to Ellie. "It's my grandmother."

"No," Ellie said. "I want you to stay here and look after Peaches, Louis and the twins. Can you do that?"

Sid thought for a while, then he realized that Ellie was giving him a responsible task. He saluted the female mammoth.

"Aye-aye, Ellie!" he said. "You can count on me."

He turned around to Louis and the possum brothers, who were still standing outside the cave.

"Come on, you three," he said. "In the cave, quickly."

"We're not children," Crash said, but he did what Sid said anyway, as did Eddie and Louis.

Ellie waited until they were all safe inside the cave. Then she turned around to Sierra.

"Why do you want me to help you find that old sloth?" Sierra asked.

"Because you have a good nose," Ellie said.

"I already helped you," Sierra replied. "I am a lone wolf, I don't just help animals because they're nice. You're going to have to do something back."

"We already agreed that we would help you defeat Bela," Ellie protested.

"Yes, I agreed to help you get back your friend Sid," was Sierra's reply to the protest. "That's what I did. My side of the bargain is done."

Ellie shook her head. "I don't understand you, Sierra," she sighed. "Why can't you just do a simple act of kindness?"

"Because I learned long ago that it's better to stay alone," Sierra answered. "Being in a pack only makes you dependable on others. Alone you're stronger, better."

"You don't know how wrong you are, Sierra," Ellie said. She felt pity for this wolf. Something had happened to her to make her like this. Ellie had no idea what it was, but it couldn't be something good. She wished she could help Sierra, but she could see that she couldn't break through that hard shell that the wolf had created around herself. At least, not yet.

Sierra sighed. "Alright," she said. "I will help you find the old sloth if you let me have some of your food tonight."

"We would have given you food anyway, you know." Ellie said kindly.

"Then I wouldn't have taken it." Sierra simply said. She looked at Ellie with her cold, grey eyes.

Ellie just smiled. "Okay, we have a deal."

They walked into the forest, side by side.

…

As the night began to fall, Manny, Diego and Shira started walking back to the cave. They had a lot of food with them. Only Diego and Shira had already eaten in the forest. Taking a whole carcass of some animal with them would be too much work, plus it would be disturbing for the other herd members.

As they arrived at the cave, they noticed nobody was outside anymore.

Manny dropped the fruit and vegetables he was carrying.

"Hello?" He said. "Anybody home?"

"Dad!" a voice coming out of the cave said. Peaches appeared.

"Peaches, where is everybody?" Manny asked.

Behind Peaches, Sid, Louis and Crash and Eddie appeared as well. Sid stepped forward proudly.

"Don't worry, Manny," he said. "I took good care of everybody."

"But where's Ellie?" Manny asked.

"She and Sierra are out looking for Granny," Peaches said.

"Oh, she walked away again?" Manny grunted.

"She's been gone for a long time, dad," said Peaches. "But apparently you didn't notice."

Manny was silent for a while, his eyes wide.

"How… how could I not have noticed it?" He stuttered.

"I didn't notice it either," Diego said. "But I should have. Someone as loud-mouthed as Granny should surely have been missed."

"And Ellie is out alone looking for her?" Manny asked.

"With Sierra." Said Peaches.

"I'm going after them," Manny decided and he already turned around to the forest.

"Dad, wait…" Peaches said.

"Stay here, Peaches," Manny ordered. "You, Diego, take care of them."

"Yes, Manny," said Diego.

Manny disappeared between the trees.

Peaches made a frustrated sound. "Why can everybody go away except for me?" she complained.

"We have food," Shira said without answering Peaches.

Sid had already stared eating, and the others soon joined him. Even Peaches, though she still looked a little annoyed.

…

Ellie followed Sierra, who was following the trail of scent she had discovered. The wolf said she was quite sure it was Granny. There was only one person who smelled worse than Sid, and that was Granny.

Ellie noticed they weren't going in the direction of the wolves' lair. Perhaps that meant that Granny was safe.

After a while, they left the forest.

"Are you sure we're supposed to go this way?" Ellie asked.

"This is where the trail leads," said Sierra.

"Strange," Ellie remarked. "Granny must have walked off pretty far."

"If she walked by herself." Sierra said.

They crossed a large field, then entered another small piece of forest close to a mountain.

Sierra suddenly stopped, her ears standing straight, listening carefully.

"Do you hear that?" She asked.

Ellie listened too. "Voices," she said. "And… music?"

They walked further uphill, until they reached an open space in the small forest. There they stopped and stared with open mouths at what they saw.


	12. Chapter 11 - the badger queen

**Our Land.**

**Chapter 11 – The badger queen.**

…

What Sierra and Ellie saw before them was a tribe of generally small black and white creatures. They were making music by playing on flutes and hitting on hollow tree trunks with sticks.

"Badgers." Sierra said.

"I didn't know those lived in groups." Ellie said, surprised.

The badgers didn't notice them at the moment. They kept on dancing and singing and making music. A group of them were dancing in a circle around something. It looked like a rock chair with someone sitting in it. But Ellie and Sierra couldn't see who it was, because two large vans blocked their sight.

Suddenly, a little girl badger turned around and saw Ellie and Sierra. She immediately started screaming.

"Wolf!" She cried out. "Wolf!"

The music and the dancing stopped instantly, and the badgers turned around. Soon, a few males walked forward, spears in their hands.

"You, wolf!" one of them said. "What are you doing here? Go back to you pack."

"I don't have a pack," Sierra replied. "I am a lone wolf."

"We're just here to look for a friend of ours, an old female sloth," Ellie explained. "Maybe you have seen her."

"Hey, suckers, get those vans out of my face, I can't see them!" A familiar voice called out from out of the stone throne.

The badgers put down the vans and revealed who was sitting on the throne.

"Granny!" Ellie cried out.

"Oh hey, Ellie," Granny said, sitting comfortably on the throne with a drink in her paw. She waved at the female mammoth.

On the rock next to the throne stood a large, muscular male badger. He leaned over to Granny a little. "You know them, your majesty?"

"Majesty?" Ellie exclaimed, confused.

"Sure I know them!" Granny said. "That Ellie and… and…" She looked at Sierra, squinting her eyes. "Eh… Isabella?"

"Sierra," Sierra corrected her. "We haven't met before."

"Oh, sure we have, Isabella!" Granny laughed, waving her paw.

"Wait, wait, wait," Ellie said. "Granny, I'm confused. Why are you here? And why did that guy just call you 'your majesty'?"

"Because she is our queen, of course," the muscular badger next to Granny said with a smile.

"Wait, what?" said Ellie.

The muscular badger jumped down. "Maybe we owe you en explanation, if you're really a friend of her majesty Granny." He said kindly. "First off, my name is Baen. I used to be the leader around here."

"I'm Ellie," said Ellie. "I don't understand, Baen. Why would you step down and give your place as leader to Granny?"

Baen blushed a little. "Well," he said. "You see, it's tradition here that when a male leader decides to marry, he gives his throne to his wife."

Ellie blinked. "Wait… you and Granny are married?"

"Not yet, but we will be," Baen said.

"That is disgusting," Sierra exclaimed.

"But why?" Ellie asked.

"I vowed I would marry the woman who could defeat me in combat," Baen explained. "And Granny was the first to succeed in doing that."

"Granny?" Ellie said, raising her eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"Sure, Ellie!" Granny said happily.

"Granny is quite the fighter," Baen said, rubbing his head as if he could still feel the pain of being hit with Granny's walking stick.

"This is too weird," Ellie laughed, shaking her head.

"Tell me about it!" Granny said. "He doesn't even have a moustache."

Baen pouted a little.

"Aww, but you're still cute, Baeny." Granny assured him.

Ellie suddenly looked over her shoulder. "Where are you going, Sierra?"

"Back to the forest." Sierra replied. "I don't have time for this nonsense."

"Wait just a second," said Ellie. She turned back to Granny. "Listen, Granny, the rest of the herd are really worried about you. You have to come home with me."

"Aww, I never get to have any fun." Granny complained.

"Please, Granny," Ellie begged. "Come back with me. Only to show that you're alright. Then you can go back, I promise. But Sid and the others have the right to know that you're okay."

Granny sighed, and then jumped off the throne. "Okay then," she said. "But quick, or I'll miss dinner. They have lovely salads here."

"Nothing but the best for you, your majesty," Baen said.

"Aww, call me Granny, Baeny," Granny giggled.

Ellie picked Granny up with her trunk. "Here, I'll carry you," she said. "We'll go faster that way."

"Woohoo!" Granny said as she was placed on Ellie's back. "Tally hoo, horsie!"

Baen laughed. "You have a great sense of humor, Granny." He complimented her.

Sierra had already started walking, and Ellie followed her quickly. Baen joined them as well.

The badgers that remained at the open space were silent for a while. Then one started playing his flute, and soon all of them were dancing, singing and making music again.

…

Manny returned to the cave when it became too dark in the forest. He hadn't found Ellie and Sierra, and was very worried. He hoped they would go back to the cave and he would find them there. But when he came there, he was disappointed to see that his wife had not returned yet. He just found Peaches, Louis, Sid and the possum twins playing a game with small stones while Shira and Diego watched them.

Diego stood up when Manny walked towards them.

"Ah, Manny," he said. "And, did you find them?"

Manny shook his head. "No."

Peaches looked up from the game. "They're still not back?" she asked. She seemed a little worried now.

Manny sat down. "If they're not back in an hour, I'll go looking for them again." He said. "I won't let them get caught by those darn wolves."

"Don't worry, Manny," a voice behind him said. "We're okay."

They all turned around.

"Mom!" Peaches called out. "You're back. And you've got Granny."

"Granny!" Sid cried out, running towards his grandmother and hugging her.

"Get your hands off me you softy!" Granny screamed, hitting her grandson on the head with her stick.

"Granny, it's me!" Sid said, backing away a little. "Your grandson Sid!"

The muscular badger that was standing behind Granny stepped forward.

"So you're her grandson?" He asked.

"Yes," Sid said, a little surprised to see the stranger. "And who are you?"

"This… is going to take some explaining…" Said Baen.


	13. Chapter 12 - War plans?

**Our Land.**

**Chapter 12 – war plans?**

…

"Wait… What?!" Sid called out as he jumped on his feet. "You're going to marry my granny?"

"Well… yes." Baen said, shrugging.

"I already told you my opinion," Sierra said softly in the background. "It's disgusting."

"No way!" Sid said, not paying attention to the wolf. "You can't marry him, Granny. He's… he's a badger!"

"Meh, I kissed a fish once," Granny said. "Compared to that, this is nothing."

"That's it, I'm out of here." Said Sierra as she stood up. "I've had my food anyway. But don't forget our agreement."

She disappeared between the trees.

"I'm going to have to agree with Sid, Granny," Manny admitted. "This is just a little too weird."

"You guys never let me do anything," Granny complained.

"But aren't you a little old to marry, Granny?" Shira asked.

"Hah!" Granny exclaimed. "I'll burry your children's children and do the polka on their graves!"

"What's the polka?" Eddie wondered.

"And who do you think you are to just waltz by and marry my granny?" Sid asked Baen angrily.

"Well," Baen started to explain. "I'm the last of a long line of badger kings and queens. They were all leaders of our village in the small forest next to this one. Where we live it's tradition that if a king marries, his wife takes over the throne."

"What kind of a tradition is that?" Crash mocked.

Baen gave him a short angry look, then continued talking. "Now, I vowed that I would only marry the woman who could defeat me in combat. And your Granny was the first one to succeed in doing so, Sid."

Sid blinked. "Wow…" He muttered. "So, my Granny is now a queen?"

"Well, not yet, actually," Baen said. "Not officially. But she will be very soon."

"Wow, Granny," Peaches laughed. "Good job. I didn't know you had it in you."

"Thanks, sister," Granny said, grinning.

"Okay, all the weirdness out of the way," said Manny. "Baen, maybe you and your people can help us? We have a little trouble with the wolves around here."

"You are not the only one," said Baen. "We've had quite some trouble with them too in the past. They chased my grandfather and his tribe out of the forest."

"Well, they want us gone too," Manny explained. "So we made a deal with that lone wolf called Sierra. She promised she would help us get Sid back, who was kidnapped by Bela and his pack. She did that. Now we have to help her."

"With what?" Baen asked.

"Well…" Manny hesitated. "She… she wants us to help her kill Bela."

Baen gasped. "Kill Bela?" he said. "Are you mad?"

"We have no choice," said Manny, shrugging. "we made our deal with Sierra, and we're not the type to back out on deals. But I think we need help. We're no match against all those wolves. But maybe if you and your badger tribe helped us, we might have a chance."

Baen frowned. "I don't know," he said. "What do you think, Granny?"

Granny waved her stick through the air. "Let's get those dogs!" she screamed. "We'll burry them and dance on their graves!"

"Well, if you say so," said Baen. "But we'll have to ask the other badgers if they're comfortable with it. We have to think of our people."

"Oh, and Baen," said Ellie. "I wonder if we can ask you for another favor. Just a small one. I wonder if my daughter and brothers and Louis can stay with you where it's safe for a while. I'm afraid they'll get hurt."

"Oh, we don't need protection," Crash said proudly.

"Yeah!" Eddie added. "We fought by the side of Buck the dinohunter, remember?"

"No," Ellie said sternly. "I won't have you two walking right into danger. You'd better stay with Baen where it's safe. At least, if he allows you to." She looked at the badger.

Baen smiled. "Of course your family can stay with us. They're welcome."

"Thank you, Baen," Ellie said, relieved.

"But mom…" Peaches protested.

"I want you to be safe, Peaches," said Ellie. "please, go with Baen."

Peaches sighed. "Okay, mom."

Peaches, Louis and Crahs and Eddie said goodbye to the herd members who stayed behind. Peaches hugged her mother and father tightly. "Be safe, mom and dad." She said.

Then the four followed Baen and Granny back to the badger's village.

Baen promised he would send a messenger with his answer to Manny's request.

Then the rest of the herd was left alone.

"That was a good thing you did there, Ellie," Manny said. He nuzzled his wife.

"Don't you think Sid should go too?" Diego wondered.

Sid folded his arms over his chest. "Hah, as if I can't handle a few wolves," he said stubbornly.

"Maybe Diego is right…" Manny started, but Sid gave him an angry look, so he said: "Fine, Sid can stay if he wants. But don't get kidnapped again, Sid."

"I won't." Sid promised.

…

Hamlin quickly jumped off Bela's rock when he saw the alpha wolf approaching.

"Ah, you're back, your grace." He said, bowing. "Did you find Sierra?"

"Yes," said Bela. "she has apparently found sanctuary with that herd."

"So what is the plan, your grace?" asked Hamlin.

"I don't know yet," was the answer. "I need to think about what our next step is going to be. So leave me in peace and go lead the hunting party."

"Yes, your grace." Said Hamlin.

While Bela walked back to his den, he passed the Witch Wolf, who was the pack's healer and magician. He looked up when the leader walked by.

Bela sniffed. He could smell the Witch Wolf. He smelled like smoke and bones.

"Any war plans, you grace?" the Witch Wolf asked. He giggled with a hoarse voice.

"Not yet, Witch Wolf," replied Bela. "Not yet. But probably very soon."

The Witch Wolf waited until the leader had walked past him.

"Lovely," he giggled then, rubbing his paws.

Bela went into his den and lay down, his head on his paws and his blind eyes closed behind his bird-skull mask.

He tried to think for a while, but instead fell into a deep sleep.

…

Sierra looked at the wolves' lair. She saw Hamlin gathering the hunting party. She saw Seth sneaking around, looking for wolves to pull a prank on. And she saw the Witch Wolf walking back to his den.

The female wolf turned around and walked back to her own home. The small hole in the rocks. She had lived there since she was a little wolf cub.

She went inside. In the back of the small cave, she shoved a stone aside to reveal a small hole, about as big as her paw, and in it was a necklace of a wolf tooth. She took it out and held it in her paws. She looked up.

"Not much longer, father." She said. "Not much longer."


	14. Chapter 13 - daylight

**Our Land.**

**Chapter 13 – daylight. **

…

Peaches was walking next to Louis through the small forest of the badgers. Peaches was glad that she could walk around and breathe freely again. She had been with the badgers only for one night, but she already liked them. They were friendly animals. Very different from the first badger she had ever met: Gupta the pirate.

It was day now, and the sun was shining high in the sky. Crash and Eddie had joined the badgers' dancing and singing. Peaches and Louis had taken the opportunity to go for a walk, finally.

"I hope your parents will be alright," said Louis.

"Don't worry, Louis." Peaches replied. "I'm sure Baen and his badgers are going to help them, and then we'll get rid of those nasty wolves. I just wish I could help. Don't you?"

Louis gulped. "Not really," he giggled nervously.

Peaches looked at him in surprise. "I thought you were over your fear of everything?" she asked. "I mean, I saw how you stood up to those pirates. You were so brave!"

Louis blushed. "Well…" He stuttered. "That was just because you were in danger."

"Yeah but still," said Peaches. "You did do it."

Louis looked away shyly.

"You're the best friend ever, Louis." Peaches added.

Louis sighed. There was a short silence.

"P-Peaches?" Louis stuttered then.

Peaches looked at him. "Yes, Louis?"

"I… I just wanted to tell you, that…" Louis couldn't finish his sentence. Suddenly Crash and Eddie jumped out of the bushes.

"Hey Peaches, hey wiener," they said.

"Hey, you two." Said Peaches, waving with her trunk.

"What are you up to?" Eddie asked.

"Oh, nothing," replied Peaches. "Louis was just going to tell me something, weren't you Louis?" She looked at her friend.

Louis sighed. "Never mind." He mumbled, and he walked away with his head and shoulders hanging. Peaches looked surprised. She didn't understand what was wrong.

"Bye, wiener," said Crash.

…

"If they're friends of our future queen, we are in," said the captain of the badger guard. "We will protect that herd against the wolves. Right, men?"

The badger guards cheered.

Baen nodded. "Good," he said. "Very good. You there, kid. Go to the herd in Bela's forest and tell the mammoth Manny that our army is on his side."

The young badger saluted. "Yes, sir!" And with those words he ran away as fast as he could in the direction of the forest of the wolves.

Baen turned to Granny.

"Don't worry, Granny," he said. "We'll protect your family. They won't be torn apart by those wolves."

"Good work, cutie," said Granny, ruffling the badger's hair.

Baen smiled at her. Then he looked over his shoulder at Louis, who appeared from the forest.

"Is something the matter, friend?" he asked. "You look a little blue."

Louis sighed and sat down on a stone.

"What would you do," he asked Baen. "If you really, really loved someone. But that someone didn't know anything about it. And... you just don't know if you should tell her or not and you're afraid that would you tell her, it would ruin your friendship."

"You're a pussy," Granny said. "Just go to her and tell her."

Baen seemed to hesitate a little. Then he decided to agree with Granny. "Yeah, I think in the end you should always tell the truth."

Louis sighed again. He didn't really think it helped. He still didn't know what to do.

Peaches and her two uncles appeared from the forest.

"Hey, Louis," Peaches said. "Why did you walk away?"

"I just… nothing…" Louis stammered.

"If you're not going to say anything, I will," Granny threatened.

"What do you mean, Granny?" Peaches asked.

"Nothing!" Louis called out. "She meant nothing, Peaches. It's just crazy old Granny. Come on, let's go for a walk."

He stood up and dragged Peaches with him by her trunk.

"Wiener!" Granny said.

…

Manny looked up when a small young badger came running towards him. He stood up.

"You're Baen's messenger?" he asked.

"Yes sir!" The young badger answered proudly, still panting from his long running. He saluted.

"And?" asked Ellie.

"Baen wanted me to tell you that our army is on your side," the young badger informed them. "We are ready to fight by your side."

"That's great," Manny said. "Thank Baen from us. And tell him to send his army over to us as fast as he can. I think the wolves are planning something."

"Yes sir!" the young badger said.

"That's all I need to know," said a voice from the forest. They looked around and saw Sierra standing in the shadows. She still had a serious expression on her face.

"What do you mean?" Ellie asked her.

"As soon as the badger army is here, I will make sure Bela and his wolves come." Sierra replied. "It's time for the alpha wolf to die."

"Don't you think we should wait?" Manny asked.

Sierra shook her head. "I've been waiting too long for this moment, mammoth," she said. "And it's time for you to fulfill your promise to me. Help me kill Bela the alpha, and then I will leave and never bother you again."

Ellie stepped forward. "Sierra…" she said softly. "you don't need to do this. I don't know why you want Bela dead so badly, but it can't be something good."

"It's none of your business." Sierra snapped.

"I thought it was," Ellie sighed. "because I'm your friend."

"I don't have any friends," Sierra growled. "I am a lone wolf. I only take care of myself, I don't need anyone else. I only work together with you because I can't do it on my own. Other than that, there's no reason. I'm not your friend and you are not my friends."

She stood up.

"I will wait until the badger army is here. Then I will get Bela and his wolves."

With those words, she turned away and disappeared back into the shadows."

Manny and Ellie looked at each other with a frown.


	15. Chapter 14 - night

**Our Land.**

**Chapter 14 – night.**

…

While the sun began to sink lower and lower, a small army of badgers left the small forest, armed with knifes, swords and spears. They were lead by Baen and Granny, one armed with a sword and the other with her walking stick. Without hesitation they walked into Bela's forest.

In the bushes, a grey female wolf was watching them. Maybe for the first time in years, she smiled a little bit. The game was on. She turned around and walked back to the wolves' lair.

The badgers walked towards the herd's cave, where Manny, Ellie, Diego, Shira and Sid were waiting for them.

Baen walked towards Manny and shook his trunk respectfully.

"I'm glad you're here, Baen," Manny said. "Sierra is apparently getting impatient. She told us she is going to send Bela and his pack to us as soon as you are here. She's probably already seen you and gone to get them."

"I wonder what that wolf is up to," Baen thought out loud. "Are you sure we can trust her?"

"She doesn't seem to be on Bela's side, that's for sure," said Diego. "But if we can trust her… I'm not so sure."

"I don't think we really can," said Shira. "She seems like the type who only does things that make her better. She doesn't care about anyone else."

"I think you're wrong there, Shira," said Ellie. "I think she does care about things. Something just happened to her in the past to make her like this. I think we should feel sorry for her. Something went wrong with her once, and nobody was there to change it back again. I think she is lonely."

"Enough about Sierra," Manny interrupted the conversation. "we have bigger problems on our mind. No doubt the wolves will come soon. We have to be ready."

The rest agreed to that. The badgers made the last adjustments to their weapons. Shira and Diego sharped their claws on the rocks. Sid decided to hide in the cave after all.

Ellie and Manny gave each other a worried look. They hoped this wouldn't turn out in one big misery.

…

Seth walked back to the wolves' lair. He had a dead rabbit in his jaws, freshly caught. He was planning to go to his own little den and eat it all on his own. No other wolves to take the tastiest pieces of meat.

Suddenly, someone jumped on him and pushed him to the ground. The rabbit fell out of his mouth and landed in the sand.

"Let me go!" Seth screamed.

"Sssh," someone hushed him. "Don't worry, I'll let you go. But you are going to have to listen to me."

Seth's eyes widened. "Sierra?"

He struggled and got free from her grasp. He stood up and turned around to the grey she-wolf.

"What are you doing here?" the male wolf asked. "I though you decided to go to the herd's side?"

"You are wrong," said Sierra. "I am still on nobody's side. I am a lone wolf, and I have my own plans. I only do things to achieve my own goal."

"Okay," Seth said. "But still, why are you here?"

"I want you to tell Bela to get ready for a fight," Sierra replied. "the herd have an army on their side now, so it's more of a fair fight."

"Why are you telling us this?" asked Seth. "how does this help you? I don't understand."

"You don't need to, Seth," Sierra said, laughing a little bit. "I just need you to bring that message to Bela."

Seth looked into Sierra's grey eyes.

"Who are you, Sierra?" he asked. "What do you want?"

"I doubt you'll ever find out." Said the grey female wolf. She stroke a lock of hair out of her eyes. "At least not from me."

"Bela seems to know you," Seth continued. "and you seem to know him. Even from before I met you. How is that possible?"

"I think you already know that I'm not going to tell you anything," Sierra simply replied. "Just bring my message to Bela. That's all I ask of you."

Seth picked up his rabbit and gave Sierra one last look. She was sitting there, a mysterious grey female wolf, her feelings impossible to read through those cold grey eyes.

She was all alone in this world.

Seth walked back to the wolves' lair. He left the dead rabbit in his own little den, and then walked towards Bela's living space.

He found the old leader asleep in his den. He cleared his throat and the white wolf woke up.

"What is it, Seth?" Bela asked, yawning.

"I… I got a message from Sierra," Seth said uncomfortably.

Bela turned his head around towards Seth. He seemed surprised, and also very interested. This wasn't exactly something he was expecting.

"What did she say?" the old leader asked.

"She… she says the herd has an army on their side now," Seth explained. "and she tells you to get ready for war, sir."

Bela stood up.

"She's got us," he said.

"What do you mean, your grace?" asked Seth.

"After all those years, I thought she wouldn't try it. She wouldn't try to take over my pack. But apparently I was right after all. And now she's got us trapped. We can't do anything but fight now." Bela growled.

"We could always run, your grace," Seth stuttered.

"No!" Bela growled even louder. "we're not going to run. We will fight, Seth. Go get Hamlin, right now!"

Seth ran away with his tail between his legs.

Bela turned his head in the direction of the herd's cave. His blind eyes couldn't see anything, but he knew Sierra was there somewhere.

"You're wrong, Sierra," he said. "You can't get me. You will never succeed in your plan. And now it is going to be the death of you."

…

The herd looked up when Sierra came running towards them.

"Sierra, there you are," Ellie said.

Sierra didn't pay attention to her. She turned towards Manny.

"They're coming." She said.


	16. Chapter 15 - fight

**Our Land.**

**Chapter 15 – fight.**

…

The smell of fire filled the wolves' lair. The Witch Wolf had made a great fire, and was dancing around it like a maniac. The flames rose high to the sky in all kinds of colours. Blue, green, yellow, red…

There were bowls of paint everywhere, and the wolves were busy with painting stripes and pawprints on their body. It was in red paint, the colour of war.

Hamlin, who had already painted his war colours on his face and shoulders, helped Bela with his paint. Since the old wolf was blind, he couldn't do it himself.

"Are you sure it's best to attack now that the herd has an army?" Hamlin asked.

"We can't run," said Bela. "It would make us look like fools. And I will not let that Sierra go this time. Not this time."

"What other time was there, your grace?" asked Hamlin curiously.

"That is none of your business," Bela answered calmly.

"Of course, your grace," said Hamlin.

Shani came running towards the two male wolves. She too had red paint on her face and body.

Hamlin looked up. "Shani?" he asked. "Don't tell me you're fighting too."

"Of course I'm fighting," Shani said proudly. "I'm part of the pack."

"But…" Hamlin tried to protest, but Bela interrupted him.

"You are Hamlin's sister Shani, right?" he asked her calmly, while sniffing to pick up her scent.

"Yes, your grace," Shani said, keeping her body low to the ground in a respectful way.

"You are quite young still to fight," Bela continued. "But I see you want it very much, don't you?"

"Oh, yes your honor," Shani said from the deepest part of her heart.

"Then I'll be glad to have you in this little war," Bela said with a faint smile.

"But…" Hamlin protested again.

"Silence, Hamlin," Bela demanded in a louder tone. "If your sister wants to fight, she will fight. And that is final." He stood up. "Now go gather the troupes."

As the old leader walked away, Hamlin turned to his sister.

"Are you insane?" He asked. "You're much too young to fight."

"I am a big wolf," Shani said with her nose in the air. "I can take care of myself. Besides, I've always wanted to kill a mammoth."

"You can't kill a mammoth…" Hamlin started, but before he could finish his sentence Shani smacked him on the cheek with her paw.

"You never think I can do anything," she hissed. "But I'm not your sweet little sister anymore. I'm a grown wolf now, and I know Bela believes in me. Why don't you for a change?"

She stood up and walked away with her nose in the air.

"Shani, wait…" Hamlin called after her, but she didn't listen.

The grey wolf sighed. Then he remembered that Bela had told him to rather the pack, and so he went to do that.

He just hoped his little sister would be alright.

…

"I hope you can be trusted," Shira said to Sierra, looking at her in suspicion.

"You can decide about that," Sierra replied. "You know I only work for myself."

"You did bring us into this mess, don't forget that," Diego growled.

Sierra looked at him. "You brought yourself into this mess. You started it, and now you're going to have to finish it."

"And you?" Manny asked her. "What are you going to do in the fight? Are you just going to make sure Bela is dead and then leave us to our fate?"

"I will defend myself," Sierra just said. "That is all."

"I don't know why we keep up with you." Said Shira.

"Neither do I," Sierra replied. "You trust animals much too soon. I don't understand how you can do that. To trust everybody just like that. How can you live like that?"

"It's very easy," Ellie said, smiling. "You should try it, Sierra. It's wonderful to have friends."

Sierra turned her head away. "No thank you. I'll manage on my own."

There was a long silence. Sierra refused to look any of the herd members in the eyes. They still did not understand her. Could not understand her. What made her into this person?

Ellie really wish she knew.

The badger army seemed to get impatient. Some started talking to each other and pointing at the herd, as if they thought the herd was just pulling a prank on them.

Baen stood up and walked over to Manny.

"Listen, Manny," he said. "If those wolves don't come soon, I believe my badger army would rather leave."

"What?" Granny, who had heard all, cried out. "No way, you bunch of pussies are not gonna back away now."

She looked at the badger army angrily. The badgers seemed uneasy, then some of them saluted.

"We're not going anywhere, your majesty," said one of them, and the rest nodded.

"Good." Granny nodded. She sat down again.

"Good job, Granny," Baen said as he sat down next to her.

"Look!" Sid suddenly cried out, and he hid behind Manny.

Out of the forest, the wolves appeared, painted all over with red stripes and pawprints. Their colours of war.

The badger army made themselves ready to fight.

Sid made sure he was hidden behind Manny. Manny and Ellie held their tusks ready to strike. Diego and Shira had their teeth bared.

Sierra stepped forward until she was right in front of the wolves.

The wolves didn't attack yet. They just stood there, waiting. Waiting for their leader.

Then Bela appeared, also covered in red paint.

"Remember our agreement," Sierra whispered to Diego as she walked past him.

The saber-toothed tiger nodded.

Sierra and Bela walked right towards each other. At a small distance of each other, they both sat down.

Bela sniffed the air and recognized Sierra's scent.

"So," the old leader said with a grin on his face. "you decided to turn against me after all, Sierra… my daughter."

"WHAT?!" the herd cried out.

**...**

**Author's note.**

**Hello, everyone, it's me! **

**I just wanted to say that I'm glad you people**

**seem to like this story, and I would like to **

**announce that there's going to be a sequel!**

**So, when this story is over, please don't**

**leave yet. :) **

**The sequel is going to be much better than this**

**story, so I'm sure you will enjoy it. **

**Snowy Stoat.**


	17. Chapter 16 - the life of a lone wolf

**Our Land.**

**Chapter 16 – the life of a lone wolf.**

…

_The clouds were dark, grey and heavy in the sky. In the distance, there were the first grumbling sounds of a thunderstorm. A few flashes of light, still far away, but soon it would come closer. _

_The white wolf walked up and down in front of the den, restless. _

"_Calm down, your grace," one of the other wolves said. "I'm sure everything will be alright."_

_The white wolf growled at him, and the other wolf was silent._

_The Witch Wolf came out of the cave, with his usual grin on his face._

"_And?" the white leader asked._

"_She is ready to see you, oh great Bela." The Witch Wolf chuckled._

_The first flash of thunder hit the forest behind Bela as he entered the den he lived in with a wide grin on his face._

"_So, Alana," he said loudly. "Show me my sons." _

_The beautiful young female wolf looked up at her mate with tears in her eyes, and Bela knew something was wrong. On the ground were the cold, limp bodies of two wolf cubs. Two males._

"_What happened?" Bela asked and he stared at the dead cubs with his grey eyes. _

"_I'm so sorry Bela," Alana sobbed. "But… they're dead. The boys are dead… our sons…"_

_Bela let out a growl of anger. _

"_How?!" he shouted at his wife. "Tell me, how?!"_

"_T-they were born dead, my dearest," Alana said. "I couldn't help them anymore. I'm not even sure they've ever been alive."_

"_Don't you 'my dearest' me!" Bela snapped. "You fool of a female. Can't even give me a good, living heir." _

_Suddenly he blinked. "What is that?" he asked. "What's that you're hiding?"_

_He walked over to Alana and pushed her front paw aside._

_There, against Alana's belly, lied a third cub. It was small and grey, but the tip of it's tail was black._

"_What is this?" Bela asked._

_Alana looked at her mate with tears in her eyes. "Bela…" she muttered. "You... you have a daughter. A beautiful, healthy daughter."_

_Bela stared at the cub._

"_Aren't you happy?" Alana asked. "You do have an heir. Her… her name is Sierra."_

"_You call this an heir?" Bela asked. _

"_What?" said Alana._

"_I said: you call this an heir?" Bela repeated in a louder tone. "It's a female!"_

"_B-but…" Alana stuttered. _

"_Everyone will laugh at me if I put a female on the throne." Bela growled. "You little fool. Give me that cub!"_

_Alana held her daughter close to her chest. "What are you going to do with her?" She asked in fear._

"_Kill her, of course." Bela said. "I will not have that little mistake walk around and try to take over my throne when she's older. Best to rid the world of that little pest."_

"_You can't mean that!" Alana cried out._

"_I do mean it." Said Bela. "Give her to me!"_

"_No!" Alana screamed. _

_Before Bela could do something she grabbed her daughter and ran out of the cave, pushing the Witch Wolf aside on her way out. The Witch Wolf rolled over and hit his head against a rock._

"_Get her!" Bela shouted._

_Alana ran as fast as she could, the other wolves not far behind her. Her heart raced in her chest, her eyes were full of tears. _

_How could he? How could he be this way to his own mate… his own daughter?_

"_Don't worry, Sierra," Alana thought. "I'll keep you safe. Don't worry… Don't worry."_

_It didn't seem like the pack would give up on chasing her tat easily. When Alana looked over her shoulder, she saw that Bela was running in front of his pack, his bird skull on the back of his head so that she could see his furious grey eyes. _

_She couldn't bear to look into those eyes any longer. He wanted to kill her daughter… her sweet little Sierra. _

_She started running faster. Faster and faster. She had to save her cub, she had to keep running. _

_She had never run this fast. When she looked over her shoulder again she saw that the other wolves were getting further and further behind. _

_She would make it, thank god._

_But the wolves would still be able to follow her trail. They would be able to smell her, to find her tracks. _

_There was the lake. She ran towards it and jumped into the water. She started swimming, making sure her cub did not get wet. She swam across the entire lake, and climbed out on the other side. She shook the water out of her fur. Then she looked over her shoulder._

_She didn't see the other wolves anymore. She had lost them. _

_She sighed and put down her daughter. She licked the soft fur of the cub._

"_My sweet little Sierra." She said lovingly. "I won't let them get you. Never. Never in my entire life." _

_Then she picked her up again and continued walking at a slower pace. Not far from there, she found a small hidden cave. She went inside and sat down, holding her daughter close to her warm chest. _

_In a soft voice, she began to sing._

"_The moon shines bright in the sky_

_My sweet little wolfy, close your eye_

_Dream of pretty things_

_Of queens and kings_

_My sweet little wolfy, the night is so dark_

_So lie down and be quiet, don't bark_

_Your mommy is here, my sweet_

_Always, always…"_

**...**

**Author's note:**

**Hey, guys. Thank you all for reviewing this**

**story. But I would like to ask you to please**

**write your reviews in English so that I can**

**read them. I'm sorry, but I do not speak **

**Spanish or French...**

**Thank you. **

**Snowy Stoat.**


	18. Chapter 17 - Sierra's pain

**Our Land.**

**Chapter 17 – Sierra's pain.**

…

"_Mommy, mommy, look at me!" The little wolf cried out._

_Alana smiled sweetly. "Very good, Sierra." _

_The wolf cub was proudly sitting on a rock. "I jumped on this all the way from the ground!" she said proudly._

"_Oh, you're such a good girl," Alana said sweetly. "I am so proud of you."_

_Little Sierra jumped off the rock again. _

"_Mommy?" She asked. "Why can't I go into the forest?"_

_Alana sighed sadly. "Because, little Sierra, your daddy will kill you if he finds you." She said._

"_But aren't daddies supposed to be nice?" asked Sierra._

"_Yes, but your daddy isn't, sweetie." Alana sighed. _

"_Why does he hate us?" Sierra asked, sighing as well._

"_I… I don't know, sweetie." Alana admitted. Tears appeared in her eyes._

_Sierra nuzzled up to her mother. _

"_Don't cry, mommy," she said. "I don't need a daddy. I have you."_

_Alana hugged her daughter. "I love you, Sierra."_

"_I love you too, mommy." _

_They were silent for a while, enjoying each other's embrace. _

_Then Alana let go. _

"_Listen, Sierra, dear…" she said. "I need to go hunting for our dinner tonight. Promise me you will stay here by the cave. And as soon as you hear someone coming, hide inside and don't come out until you know who or what it is."_

"_Yes, mommy," Sierra said. "I always do that, remember?" She smiled._

"_Yes you do, sweetie." Alana laughed. "You're a very good girl."_

_She kissed her daughter on her forehead. Then she walked away into the forest, but not before giving little Sierra one last look. Then she disappeared._

_Sierra sighed and sat down. Aside from her mother, there was never anybody to play with. And when her mother was away, she was often bored._

_She looked around. Then she started singing in a high voice. She sang the lullaby her mother always sang for her._

"_The moon shines bright in the sky_

_My sweet little wolfy, close your eye_

_Dream of pretty things_

_Of queens and kings_

_My sweet little wolfy, the night is so dark_

_So lie down and be quiet, don't bark_

_Your mommy is here, my sweet_

_Always, always…"_

…

_In the meantime, Alana was hunting in the forest for food. She had just found a big fat hare, and she was preparing herself to jump. _

_Suddenly, a twig snapped somewhere in the forest. The hare ran away._

_Alana looked up and sniffed the air. She smelled something familiar._

"_Oh no…" she said. _

_She suddenly jumped up and started running. She ran as fast as she could._

"_Sierra!" she cried out. "Sierra!"_

_She arrived at the small cave where she and her daughter lived. Her daughter looked up when she came running towards her._

"_Mommy?" she asked._

_Alana grabbed Sierra behind her ears and took her with her inside the cave. _

"_What's the matter mommy?" Sierra asked._

_Alana covered her daughter's mouth with her paw. _

"_Sssh," she whispered. "Be quiet, Sierra. Be very, very quiet."_

_Outside the cave was the sound of paws on the ground. Someone walked around slowly, as if it was searching for something._

_Alana closed her eyes and wished with all her heart that the person would go away._

_Suddenly the head of a large white wolf appeared in the opening of the cave._

"_You!" Bela growled._

_Sierra screamed. _

"_Bela, please!" Alana cried out. "Please, spare our daughter."_

_Sierra looked at the white wolf with wide eyes. This wolf… this was her father?_

_Bela didn't listen to Alana. He entered the cave and tried to attack Sierra, but Alana jumped in front of him with her teeth bared. She didn't hesitate. With her claws she started scratching the alpha wolves' face. Bela screamed in pain. Alana did not stop. She scratched until every single part of the white wolf's face was bleeding. _

_Sierra looked upon all this in horror. _

_Her father shook his face, trying to see again. But he couldn't. He rubbed his eyes with his paws, but nothing helped._

"_You… you blinded me…" he stammered. Then he growled. "You made me blind, you little…"_

_He jumped forward and snapped his jaws. He missed. Alana tried to escape, but now Bela was able to sink his teeth into her. He first got her shoulder. When he noticed he had her, he moved his teeth to her neck and bit hard. _

_Alana made a choking sound as her mate's teeth sank deep into her throat. Slowly her body went limp. And then, she fell to the ground, lifeless. _

_The necklace she was wearing, one with an old wolf tooth, rolled over the rocks and fell in a small hole in the cave. _

_Sierra looked at her dead mother in horror._

"_M-mother?" she said in a small voice._

_Bela growled. He couldn't see his daughter, but he could hear her._

"_Where are you?" he said. "Where are you, you little worm?"_

_He started swinging his paw through the air, hoping he would find Sierra. _

_The little wolf dodged a few blows, but one time she wasn't fast enough. Her father's claws ripped through her flesh. She gave out a yelp._

_Bela grinned. "There you are…"_

_He slowly came closer._

_But at that moment, Sierra ran away. She was able to slip away between Bela's front legs, and she left the cage. She ran into the forest as fast as she could, until she was out of breath._

_It was raining, and her fur became wet. It washed always the blood that flew from two deep scratches in her upper front leg. _

_After walking for a while, the little wolf cub sat down. And she cried. _

_She was all alone. Her mother was dead. Her father was trying to kill her. She had nobody._

_But after crying for a long time, she came to a decision. Two, to be exact. One was that from now on, she would be alone. She would never allow herself to care for anybody again. That way, she would never be hurt again._

_And the other thing that she decided was that one day, when she was a grown wolf, she would take revenge for her mother's death. She, Sierra, would kill her father._

…

_As time went by, Bela stopped looking for his daughter. After such a long time, he didn't think she would come back again. And his fear of her coming back and taking over his throne faded away._

_But Sierra never forgot. And she never forgave her father. _


	19. Chapter 18 - Sweet revenge

**Our Land.**

**Chapter 18 – Sweet revenge**

…

"I really thought you wouldn't try to take over my throne after all that time," said Bela. "But is seems I was wrong."

"No, father," replied Sierra. "I have never had any interest in your so-called throne. I am here because of one reason and one reason only. You killed my mother. Now it's time for you to die as well."

"And you think you can defeat me?" Bela asked mockingly.

"No," said Sierra. "But with the help of the herd, I can. I would rather do it alone. But desperate times call for desperate measures."

"So right you are, my girl," said Bela. He looked over his shoulder at his wolf pack.

"Attack."

The wolves all jumped up and ran forward.

The herd and the badgers prepared themselves. The battle was on.

Not much later, the forest was filled with the sounds of fighting animals. The wolves bit and scratched with their claws. The badgers fought back with their weapons. Manny and Ellie used their tusks, Diego and Shira their teeth. Granny swung her walking stick around, while Sid ran away from a big grey wolf.

Sierra looked over her shoulder to the fighting herd.

"Diego!" she called out.

The saber toothed tiger looked up. He looked at the grey female wolf and knew what she meant. He quickly fought off the wolf who attacked him. Then he ran towards Sierra and Bela.

Bela had raised his paw to attack his daughter. But before he could do that, Diego jumped on him and pushed him to the ground.

The alpha wolf snarled, and pushed Diego away with his back legs. Diego fell in the sand, but quickly stood up again.

Now Sierra was able to bite Bela in his back leg. She sunk her teeth into his flesh as deep as she could. The leader kicked her with his legs until she let go. His paw hit her in the face, and she backed away, her paws in front of her eye.

Diego charged again, while throwing an attacking wolf off his back. His claws ripped through Bela's shoulder, and deep, bleeding wounds appeared.

In the meantime, Shira was fighting Hamlin. She was bigger and stronger than him, and quickly overpowered the young wolf. She raised her claws to offer the final blow.

But suddenly a light grey she-wolf jumped forward and bit Shira's paw.

Shira growled and took a few steps back.

Shani stood in front of her older brother, protecting him.

"Shani…" Hamlin stammered.

Shani looked at him with a grin.

"Now I'm the one protecting you, brother." She giggled.

Shira attacked. She pushed Shani to the ground and started biting and scratching her. Shani tried to fight back, but she wasn't strong enough.

"Shani, no!" Hamlin cried out. He jumped up and pushed Shira away.

His sister was bleeding from many wounds and didn't move. Hamlin growled and looked at the female saber.

"You killed her, you monster." He snarled. "You killed my little sister."

He attacked Shira, trying to bite her neck. But Shira slapped him away with one powerful blow. Hamlin hit a tree and fell to the ground unconscious.

Shira turned around to see Sierra and Diego fighting Bela together. She decided to help them. It seemed that even though Bela was blind, he was still a strong wolf and a pretty good fighter.

Shira jumped towards Bela. She managed to grab his head with her claws, and pulled the large bird skull off his head, revealing his scarred face and his white, blind eyes. She threw the skull away, and it landed in the sand a few feet away from them.

Bela snarled and attacked back. He bit Shira's neck, but Sierra sunk her teeth into his tail and bit hard. Bela turned around and swung his paw through the air, trying to hit Sierra. But he missed and Sierra was able to back away and avoid a second blow.

Bela growled.

"I will not let you go this time, Sierra." He said.

"And I will not let you go." Answered Sierra as the leapt for his throat. But he had expected it and was able to dodge.

Then Sid, who was still running from that one wolf, didn't look where he was going and bumped into the white alpha wolf. Bela snarled.

"Sid, watch out!" Diego called out, and he jumped forward and pushed Sid away from Bela's reach.

Sid wiped the sweat off his forehead. "Pfew," he said. "That was a close one."

"Don't cheer too early, Sid," Diego replied. "This fight is not over yet." He jumped up again and attacked Bela, who had just managed to fight off Shira again.

But the wolf leader was now wounded and starting to get tired from fighting the two sabers and the wolf. Blood dripped from his shoulder, his leg and his tail. His blank eyes seemed to turn red, but maybe that was just imagination.

Diego hit Bela with his claw, and hit his head. Bela fell over. Blood came from the side of his head and his ear.

Now he lay still for a while. He seemed exhausted.

Sierra walked over to him.

"Getting tired, father?" she asked coldly. She stared at him with her cold grey eyes.

Bela growled softly.

"I will get you, Sierra." He said, almost whispering.

"No, Bela," said Sierra. "I'll get you."

And with those words, she sank her teeth deep into her father's throat. Bela didn't make a sound. He just waited until the blood stared flowing out of his wounds and his life slowly slipped away.

Sierra let go, blood around her mouth. Bela lay still and didn't move. Shira checked his pulse. He was dead.

Sierra looked up at the dark sky. "You are free, mother," she said softly. "I have avenged you. Now rest in peace."

The wolves had stopped fighting. They looked at their dead leader. There was a long silence.

"You monster!" A female voice suddenly cried out.

Everyone turned their heads to see Shani slowly standing up, bleeding wounds all over her body. Limping and with trembling legs, she started walking towards Sierra slowly, step for step.

"You killed our leader!" She hissed, pain in her voice. "Now you should die as well."

"You are insane, Shani," Sierra just said calmly.

Suddenly Hamlin stood up. He ran forward and jumped in front of Shani, his face turned towards Sierra.

"Please," he said. "Don't harm my sister. I will take care of her."

"I don't need protection," Shani snapped, but her voice was shaking.

Sierra cocked her head to one side. "I have no interest in harming her, Hamlin." She said. "Take her home."

At that moment, Shani collapsed to the ground. Hamlin turned around to her and checked if she was still alive. She was, but she was weakened. She needed medical care, and fast.

One of the wolves walked towards Sierra.

"What do we do now?" he asked.

Sierra frowned. "Why do you ask me?"

"Well, you're the alpha now," the wolf replied. "You defeated Bela, that means you are our new leader."

"What? Her?" Hamlin screamed. "Never! I will not follow her!"

For the first time it seemed like Sierra didn't know what she should say. She looked at the wolves around her, who were all waiting for her order. Could she be a leader?

She shook her head. No. She was still a lone wolf. She didn't want or need a pack, even if she was the alpha.

"I'm not your alpha," Sierra said eventually. "I am just a lone wolf. Let Hamlin be your alpha. I'm sure he'd be a good leader."

Now everyone looked at Hamlin, who seemed confused for a while. But then he started to smile a little.

The wolf who had talked to Sierra before now turned to Hamlin.

"So, what do we do now, Hamlin the alpha?" he asked.

Hamlin hesitated, but not for long.

"We're going away from here," he said. "We'll stay at our own den for tonight to take care of the wounded. And then we'll leave this dreadful forest and his stupid herd and find a better home somewhere else. In the mountains, maybe."

"Yes, sir." Said the other wolf.

A brown wolf helped Hamlin carry his unconscious sister in the direction of the wolves' lair. And slowly, all the wolves disappeared into the forest. Only Sierra stayed behind next to Bela's limp body.

Seth remained sitting for a while, looking at Sierra. But then he stood up.

"Pretty impressive for a lone wolf," he said mockingly.

"Shut up Seth." Sierra mumbled.

Seth made a giggling sound, and tip-toed back into the forest.

"Well, he doesn't seem very sad about his leader being dead." Shira scoffed.

"Horrible wolf." Diego added.

Manny sighed. "I guess we're going to have to move this body." He said. "It's not staying here."

"We should take it to the wolves and let them bury him in their own way," Ellie suggested.

Manny nodded.

"Yes," he said. "I think that's best. I'll do it."

He picked up Bela's body and walked into the forest, in the direction of the wolves' lair.

When everybody looked at Sierra again, they noticed that the female wolf had disappeared. And maybe that was for the better.

"We have won." Sid said.

And that was true.


	20. Chapter 19 - a badger wedding

**Our Land.**

**Chapter 19 – a badger wedding.**

…

There was a feast going on. Badgers danced, played flute and sang. The weapons were hidden away in the burrows.

Peaches danced with Louis. She was laughing, and Louis could not keep his eyes off her. She looked so beautiful when she was happy.

On the stone throne sat Granny, enjoying a salad. She was dressed up with feathers and colorful leaves. On the stone next to her stood Baen, also decorated with feathers. He looked at Granny with a smile on his face.

The rest of the herd were dancing as well, except for Crash and Eddie who were throwing fruit and water at the partying badgers.

Ellie raised her drink high into the air with her trunk.

"To the newly weds!" she called out with a laugh.

The rest cheered at that and continued partying.

"You do now that my Granny is a bit… crazy, right?" Sid asked Baen.

Baen smiled. "I think she is a very special woman." He said.

"Hm, if you call being crazy special." Sid shrugged.

Granny poked Baen with her stick.

"Hey Baeny," she said. "I still gotta introduce you to Precious. I'm sure she would love you as well."

"Who is this 'Precious' actually?" Baen asked curiously.

"Oh, that's Granny's pet whale." Sid explained.

Baen's eyes widened. "Whale?" he said. "Are you serious?"

"I'm afraid I am." Said Sid.

"Wow…" Baen gasped.

Granny turned to Louis, who was still dancing with Peaches.

"Hey wiener!" she called out to him. "don't you have to tell that girl something?"

Louis stopped dancing and looked at the ground, blushing.

Peaches stopped dancing as well.

"What does Granny mean, Louis?" she asked her friend.

Louis looked up to her, his brown eyes big. "I… I just wanted to tell you…" he stuttered.

"Yes?" Peaches asked.

"That… that…" Louis stammered. "That…. I am so glad that we can stay in the forest now without being bothered by the wolves."

He sighed. He just couldn't say the truth. He was too shy.

Peaches smiled. "Me too, Louis." She said.

"Pussy!" Granny shouted at Louis, and he did his best to ignore it.

"Just a shame Ethan and the girls aren't here." Peaches said. "That would be even more fun."

"Yeah… I guess." Louis muttered. He never liked Ethan and the Brat Pack very much. Even after they started being nice to him.

Actually, he was just glad that now that they had moved to the forest, it was just him and Peaches again. Just like the old days.

Peaches laughed.

"Come on, let's dance," she said.

Louis smiled again and danced with her, forgetting his worries for that moment.

"Cheers, Ellie," Manny said, raising his cup of water to his wife.

She did the same with her cup.

"I'm very glad we have our own little place again." Said Manny. "Just us and our family. And the rest of the herd, of course. It couldn't be better than this."

"Yes, Manny." Ellie replied, smiling.

Then she frowned as she looked over Manny's shoulder at something between the trees. There, in the shadows there was a silhouette. The silhouette of a wolf.

Manny looked over his shoulder as well.

"What is it, Ellie?" he asked. "What do you see?"

Ellie shook her head.

"Nothing." She said.

They turned around and walked back into the circle of dancing badgers to join them. And they forgot their worries.

In the shadows, a female wolf stared at the festivities. At the dancing herd members. At Sid who was talking to Baen. At Granny eating her salad and screaming stuff at the partying animals.

She would never be part of this, the female wolf realized. But that didn't matter. She had what she needed: herself.

She stood up and walked away. She didn't know where. But she went away without looking back.

Without ever looking back.


	21. Epilogue

**Our Land.**

**Epilogue.**

…

The mountains offered many hiding places. Many good places to build a new home.

Hamlin looked out over his new land. He sat high on a rock, while below him the wolves were making themselves comfortable in their new home.

This place wasn't even that far away from the forest where they used to live. But far away enough to not be bothered by that herd again. Nice and calm. And most importantly, the pack was satisfied with this new lair.

Wolf Rock, they called it now. A suitable name now that the pack lived here.

Hamlin suddenly felt a presence behind him.

He looked over his shoulder and saw the Witch Wolf, who stood behind him with a grin on his face and a crazed look in his red eyes. But that was usual for the Witch Wolf.

He had a light fur, almost white like Bela, and he was old too. But he was small and skinny, with a messy and dirty fur. His headgear of bones and feathers seemed too big for his head.

"What do you want, Witch Wolf?" Hamlin asked.

"I'm just admiring your new kingdom, your grace, just like you." The Witch Wolf chuckled.

"Well do it somewhere else." Hamlin growled. "You give me the creeps."

"Certainly, your grace." She Witch Wolf said, bowing for his leader.

He walked away, chuckling and snickering.

At a short distance of Hamlin, he stopped and looked behind him at the new alpha wolf.

"Perfect," he whispered with a snicker. "Very perfect. I can work with that."

He continued walking. That herd hadn't seen the last of the wolves. Oh no.

"Now, it is my turn." The Witch Wolf giggled.

**...**

**Author's note (SEQUEL ALERT!):**

**Hey, guys. Thank you all so much for reading**

**and reviewing this story. But don't go yet!**

**As you may have noticed, there's going to be**

**a sequel! I'm already working on it, and it's**

**going to be better than the first 'Our Land'.**

**I already have made the cover. If you want**

**to see it, go to my DeviantArt page (look for**

**'SnowStoat') and look in my gallery. It's the**

**only drawing that's viewable for non-members.**

**...**

**Anyway, don't forget to follow me here and **

**on DeviantArt if you have an account there. ;)**

**I have many other Ice Age fanfics in mind that**

**I'm sure you guys will like. So stay tuned.**

**...**

**And don't forget to stick around for the **

**sequel to 'Our Land'!**

**...**

**Snowy Stoat.**


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